Sunday, February 14, 2010

Some special about Marble City Kishangarh :

KISHANGARH

Image
The Phool Mahal Palace on the bank of the Gundalao Lake
Phool Mahal Palace stands between the Gundalao Lake and the Kishangarh Fort, both of which had been nearly invisible under the cover of the night. But in the morning, they redefined the landscape completely. The Fort, although not so large as its Jodhpur cousin, towers above the palace like a hill. It is a maze of buildings, and off-limits to all but the royal family and its guests. As for the lake, we were in luck because it held water after almost 20 years. Scanty rainfall and obstructed water channels had played havoc with it down the decades.

The old Kishangarh lay at the foot of the fort, and it seemed to have largely stuck to its old ways. True, we found a Swift, some Altos and 800s parked before houses, but the town's defining image was one of carts and cows. Going through its lanes - not easy in a six-feet-wide SUV - we were of as much interest to the locals as their morning repast of blood-red jalebis was to us.

If the town seemed caught in a time warp, the feeling was even stronger inside the fort. Old carriages, fading paintings, silent fountains, dark galleries… they were proof of the splendorous life those strong walls had witnessed in the first 350 years of their existence. And now, five decades after the Kishangarh royals had vacated the fort, they stood stonily silent, as if sworn to secrecy.

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