Think Rajasthan, and the first ‘must-visit’ spots that
immediately present themselves are, of course, the beautiful city of Lakes-Udaipur, Jaipur’s pink city and Jodhpur. But there does lie a
thrill in chartering the unknown course and treading off the beaten path. And
that is precisely where places like Bundi come in; lesser known parts of the
largest Indian state that get lost in translation when tales were being recounted of its more
popular, touristic counterparts.
The first sight of Bundi comes when wending one’s way around
an almost 90° bend to the left. From that angle, all one sees is the Taragarh
Fort or Star Fort, carved neatly into the mountainside, with the beautiful hues
of blue of the entire town. A chat with a town elder, Bati-Ji (now a guide
around the town, and a former member of the Air Force, who speaks the Queen’s
English like it’s nobody’s business) revealed that the reason the town paints
itself in that colour is because they mix indigo with whitewash, which is the
cheapest alternative to paint, and also because it acts as a natural mosquito
repellent.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Historically, the area around Bundi was apparently inhabited
by various local tribes. Bundi and the eponymous princely state are said to
derive their names from a former member of the Meena tribe called Bunda Meena. Bundi was formerly titled
‘Bunda-Ka-Nal’, Nal meaning ‘narrow ways’. Over the passage of time, the region
came to be governed by Rao Deva Hada, who took over Bundi from
Jaita Meena in 1342, and established a princely state Bundi, renaming
the surrounding area called Hadoti, the land of great Hada Rajputs.
Comprising a series of structures all adjacent to each
other, the Taragarh Fort is the most impressive of the city’s structures.
Having been constructed in 1354 AD, upon the top of a steep hillside overlooking the city,
the fort in modern times offers tourists a panoramic view of the city below.
The fort is also home to three tanks which never run dry. The technique with
which they were built has since been long lost. However, the tanks survive as a
testament to medieval India’s advanced methods of construction and engineering.
Rajasthan has always been historically renowned for its
military prowess, and the Taragarh Fort has one such claim of its own. The
largest of its battlements is the 16th Century bastion known
as the Bhim Burj, which once had
mounted upon it a cannon of gargantuan proportions that was referred to
as Garbh Gunjam, or ‘Thunder
from the Womb’.
Of the aforementioned attached structures, the most renowned
is the Bundi Palace. Situated on the hillside adjacent to the
Taragarh Fort, it is notable for its lavish
traditional murals and frescoes. The first look at the palace,
which involves an almighty climb to the higher levels of the hillside, is
absolutely breathtaking. Nestled amongst the stone-carved structure, far higher
than ground level, is a
beautifully manicured and landscaped garden, with the purple hues of a solitary
bougainvillea offsetting the fawn colour of the palace and the green hedges
planted in symmetrical rows.
The Chitrashala,
or picture gallery, of the palace is open to the general public. This edifice is also referred to as the Ummed Mahal
and was the creation of Rao Ummed Singh (1749-1773 AD), with further developed by his successor,
Bisen Singh (1773-1821 AD). The themes that the art in the palace attempts to
cover are varied and range from musical melodies, love stories and court
processions. The ones considered most important are the ones that highlight the
lifting of Mount Govardhan, Cheera-Harana,
Rama’s wedding procession, Ragini Todi,
Dhola Maru and Mare-Miratab. The work has been heavily influenced by Mughal and
Mewar styles of artistic representation. The colour scheme consists of an
aquamarine background, with white being used as the colour that was chosen to
represent human bodies,
and yellow, red, black and blue being used as the colours to denote clothing. At this juncture,
I can’t help but recall the words of a fellow traveller on this trip: “And to think that the
world makes a huge noise about Italy’s sole Michelangelo, when we have all
this.” To be fair, she was spot on. Granted, Bundi needs a helping hand from
the government and Rajasthan Tourism. However, there is no doubt that it is an
artistic and architectural marvel, albeit one that requires the footing of a
mountain goat to get to.
However, there is more to Bundi than just the fort and the
palace. The town amongst many other marvels, and its awe-inspiring modest lanes
with tiny homes spaced five metres
away from each other, is a repository of step-wells. There are over 50
step-wells in Bundi, of which only a handful have been maintained. Once the
only source of water for the town until the introduction of a modern pipeline,
these step-wells have since been abandoned, with the monuments that surround
them falling into a state of disrepair. Most have, in fact, become refuse dumps, slipping out
of the focus of public consciousness. Of these age-old structures, there are
two that deserve special mention:
the Dabhai Kund and the Raniji ki Baori.
The Dabhai Kund (also
known as the jail kund) is the
largest kund in Bundi. It is
considered remarkable due to the spectacular carvings on the numerous steps
that lead down to the level of the water. Then comes the largest of
Bundi’s baoris; the intricately
carved, Raniji ki Baori.
Approximately 46 metres deep, it was built in the year 1699 by Rani Nathavatji.
The steps built into the sides of the well made water accessible even when at a
very low level. The baori is one of
the largest examples of its kind in Rajasthan. Which raises the question
of what the difference is between a baori
and a kund, given that they are both
step-wells. Bati-Ji once more steps in, with his infinite wisdom, pointing out
that while a kund was used for all
practical purposes that water was required for, the water from a kund was never drunk. That is precisely
where the baori came in; providing
water for drinking. While the surface level of the Raniji ki Baori now has a layer of what appears to be algae
covering it, Bati-Ji swears with absolute conviction, that the water beneath is
still pristine, and that it is the way it is only due to neglect and lack of
use.
When it all comes down to it, Bundi is a lost marvel, one which is a
photographer’s paradise, and an artist’s education. International tourists on
the spot tell me that it is highly rated on their itinerary, especially for
visitors travelling from France and Germany. As such, I see no reason why it
shouldn’t similarly be high on a list for visitors from much nearer to home.
