UDR – UDAIPUR ARCHITECTURAL TRAVEL GUIDE

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A Living Heritage Guide by Shikha Jain and Mayank Gupta

Supported by Maharana Mewar Historical Publications Trust, a unit of Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF), Udaipur.

Udaipur located in eastern Rajasthan State of India, was founded as the capital of erstwhile Mewar kingdom in the 16th century. It has a unique and diverse living cultural heritage with its multiple layers of historic fabric and a network of lakes. The proposed guide book on Udaipur will showcase its rich repository of Mewari art and architecture.

The curated itineraries cover the City Palace Musem in full detail, along with six itineraries designed to experience the living heritage of Udaipur. It also includes two entire itineraries to the region’s historic hill fort capitals preceding Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Kumbhalgarh.

Collectively, the itineraries are designed to cater to a diverse range of architectural interests and to help prioritize with respect to availability of time. Furthermore, deriving accurate and enhanced information on the exact location of sites included in the guide is now made easier with the option of geo-data, provided in the form of QR codes.

The guide also includes practical facts for the touring visitor.

 

Browse the book:

 

 

Title

UDR-Udaipur Architectural Travel Guide

Size

126 x 184mm

Authors

Shikha Jain and Mayank Gupta

Pages

228

Subject

Architecture – Travel

Characteristics

Paperback

Language

English

ISBN

978-84-949330-3-5

About the authors

Dr Shikha Jain, architect, is the Director of DRONAH and has vast experience in cultural heritage of India ranges from steering conservation projects for various state governments to preparing conservation plans funded by international organisations such as the Getty Foundation, World Monuments Fund and advising ASI on World Heritage. She graduated in architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), Delhi, followed by a Masters in Architecture from the Kansas State University, USA and Doctorate from De Montfort University Leicester. She has published several papers and books

Dr Mayank Gupta is born, brought-up and educated in his hometown, Udaipur. He has been working with Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF), The City Palace, Udaipur since 2003. As a Deputy Secretary – Development for MMCF his key responsibilities at the foundation include not-for-profit consulting, brand building, organisation development, governance, documentation and execution of capacity building initiatives. Dr. Gupta is also the Convener of Maharana Mewar Foundation Annual Awards Distribution Ceremony since 2008. Conceptualisation and compilation of a book on 50 years of MMCF trust and excellence from 1969 – 2019 is his yet another recent achievement. All in all, Dr. Gupta truly represent a well read and a well researched academician turned management professional in non-commercial sector.

Reviews

“Covering a destination like Udaipur –more of a ‘living civilisation’ than just a city is a scholarly challenging task. It is rich in history, steeped in  myth, legend and laced with   tales of valour, grit and the making of  a new citadel city.  Besides edifices of stone and lime mortar and decorative arts in glassware and metal, it has  a  rich bouquet of culture, arts and crafts. The guide book commences  its journey by explaining the  quaint geography of Udaipur and  its unique natural endowments of hills and lakes all around. It begins  with  the   building  of the new city Udaipur by Maharana  Udai Singh II in 1553, and goes on to explain the various additions made to the City Palace Fort, standing by the bank of lake Pichola by the various descendants. As it moves further it  explains every bit  of the  rich and ornate  architectural detail, interiors  and the art work, as you climb up the palace step by step, through its numerous precincts, palaces and their  traditional cultural  practices.

You tarry a while on this voyage into royal lives by halting at various viewing points to take in the vast splendour of the city sprawled  beneath the palace heights on the ground and the string of lakes/water bodies garlanding them. In that sense a trip to the Sajjangarh Fort, Monsoon Palace located at a vantage height, gives you the most breath taking panoramic view and a bird’s view point of Udaipur –so valuable for an architect or urbanist to comprehend  the conglomeration of numerous built forms, water bodies, hills, forests and landmarks that come together to make the marvel of Udaipur.

While there are numerous brands of excellent international travel guide books on all major cities/destinations  of the world, one that is cut out exclusively for the architecture of Indian cities have been non-existent. In this large vacuum, the  series by Altrim Publishers, is quite the architectural  travellers’ prayer answered. And I’m all ready to visit Udaipur all over again!

Ar Rajnish Wattas
Former principal, Chandigarh College of ArchitectureUdaipur is one of the most uniquely planned city of India. Set within a network of seven lakes in a valley basin, the city has evolved in its picturesque landscape setting from the 16th to 21st centuries with lavish  Island palaces, monuments, gardens, havelis and stepwells ornamented in stone and various forms of local artworks. It continues to remain an architect’s delight and one of the most coveted tourism destination of India.

 

 

 

This Architectural Guide Book on Udaipur is an exhaustive presentation of the city’s art and architecture. The book covers the founding of the city, its evolution and growth since 16th century and its rich repository of its diverse heritage typologies along with special itineraries designed to experience its living heritage.

Dr. Ar. Shikha Jain, author

Director, DRONAH and Chairperson, DRONAH Foundation

 

Udaipur Architectural Travel Guide, a first of its kind, presents the significant Living Heritage of Udaipur through various interesting itineraries and facts.

Dr. Mayank Gupta, author

Deputy Secretary – Development
Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation
The City Palace, Udaipur

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