CITY OF SUNRISE.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3, 20 January 1906, Page 18

CITY OF SUNRISE.

AN INDIAN FAIRYLAND. (Fr«>n <>ur Special •‘Tinies of India” t ’orrespomlent.) Frotti Indore the route of the Royal progress lay to Udaipur, the most romantic and the most fascinating city in India. h\»r the Maharana of Udaipur, who is now their Royal Highnesses’ host, is of the bluest blood of the East. Of the elder branch of the Surya Vansa, or Children of the Sun. he is regarded by the Hindus as the direct representative of Rama, from whom was descended Kanak Sen, the founder of the Udaipur family. In the history of chivalry there is no epic transcending the heroic struggle of the Sesodias of Mewar against the giowing Mahomedan power. What parrallel is there in the annals of the West for the great sacrifice, which preceded the ‘ack of the ancient capital, (hitor, by the Tartars, when thirteen hundred women having b?en immolated to preserve them from pollution or captivity. the survivors of the garrison sought death with reckless gallantry in the crowded lanks of Allah? Or of the even greater tragedy which accompanied the second Saka of ( Inter, when thirteen thousand women preferred death to dishonour, and found it before the scant remnants of the city's defenders died lighting the army of Bhadur of Gujarat? And when ( hitor was finally sacked by Akbar, the gallant Pertab maintained the unequal struggle, with fortitude, which makes his gallant deeds the <• nnnon heritage of all Rajputs. in all Hindustan there is no more picturesque city than that Udai Singh founded amongst the mountains. The beautiful Paehcla Jake, hemmed in by the forest covered, sepia t-nted hills, is an exquisite oasis in the brownness of much of Southern Ra-putana. The palace standing upon the v<ry <»e<t of a ridge, i mining parallel to the lake, but considerably elevated above the margin <f the lake, Hanked with octagonal towers, ami crowned with cupolas. owns no more striking, or majestic structure in the East. The city, one of those rare instances of a town rising around and <l£pendant entirely upon the court, is stamped indelibly with the impress of a dominant Hinduism, which has not begun to disintegrate before Occident alising influences. And the view from the far side of the lake, with the noble proj»>rtions of th? palace, rising sheer from the waters edge and reflected in its bosom, the slender water pal aces of .lagmandir. and •Jagnewa.s, of glistening white with tin* soft brown hills in the background, is one of unforgettable beauty.

The reception Udaipur gave to Their Royal Highnesses was characteristic of a State which remains singularly true to tradition. The Maharana met the Royal visitors in the early morning, and drove with the Prince of Wales and Sir Walter Lawrence to the Residency. Her Royal Highness, following with Sir Arthur Bigge and the Hon. Mr Colvin, •genl to the Governor-General. The

route Jay amid scenes whieh have liad no like in India since tlie review of the retainers of the chiefs at the Delhi Durbar. All the feudatories of the State were assembled to pay honour to the Royal visiters, and many earne in the fashion of centuries ago. Here were tough old Jhagirdtrs. clad in gorgeous robes, mounted on squealing stallions. whose heads were enveloped in searlet cloths, as the only means of controlling them. Warriors in chain armour. ami huge panels of buckram protecting their horses’ flanks and quarters. warriors in buff jerkins. their

lances tied to the stirrup with string, and warriors in eoats of quilted cotton. There were, too, earn linen ami elephants with painted trunks, and rustics from the countryside by the thousand, each with a weapon of only a broken fowling-piece or battered tulwar. Some sort of rude order was maintained, but little, for the stallions plunged and kicked, the lamels bit, and the ponderous elephants plunked along regardless of everybody, whilst, through this bit of mediaeval India a company of the State infantry in discarded scarlet British tunics, and dhoties, shouldering Enfield rifles, marched serenely along, utterly unconscious of the bizarre in their appeaiflm-e. It was indeed a microcosm of those fast-disappearing parts of India, where Custom and tradition have withstood the exotie influences whieh are robbing us of most that is picturesque in native life and character. 'Die formal visits of the morning int roduecd yet another phase of Udaipur life. The Maharana paid a State visit to ills Royal Highness at the Residency, and it was almost immediately returned by the Prince of Wales, the Princess being a most interested spectator of the ceremonies. The route lay through the Hatliipol (late,- past the Juggernath Temple, and through the most typical parts of the Bazar. The

native city of Udaipur, though one of mean and inde-paved streets, is distinctively Hindu, and the many temples and tanks preserve it fr in any approach to flatness. Unfortunately, the Durbar Hall was in the new wing of the Palace, an addition satisfying to the external appearance, but containing nothing remarkable internally, except its meretricious adornments. The Sirdars, however, made a brave display in their gorgeous raiment, and the noontide sun blazing through the entrance hall up the aisle, which was lined by the chief and the staff, to where His

Royal Highness, in white naval uniform, sat, with the Maharana on his left, made the silks, and satins and jewels, literally scintillate. The first to be presented was the minor Chief of Baidla, wearing the sword, whieh was.presented to his grandfather by the British Government for services rendered during the mutiny. Attar and pan were afterwards distributed. It was the same self-possessed young gentleman, still clinging to his cherished weapon, why presented these emblems of Oriental hospitality to the members of the staff. When His Royal Highness departed the Maharana distributed pan to his feudatories, who, though respectful enough now, are inclined to be a thorn in the side of the Mewar, because of the extent of their feudal privileges, and the limited means the Overlord possesses iii these degenerate days of coercing them. In the afternoon their Royal Highnesses, in the course of a pleasant drive round the Fateh Sagar Dake, saw the palace and lake bathed in the glory of the setting sun, in that exquisite hour of the Indian day, whieh tones all harshness, softens all crudities, and even in the scorching months of May and June compensates for the burden and heat of tropic life. But the crowning glory of a splendid day was the pro-

gress to the palace by barge for th® State dinner, when the city was illuminated with a brilliancy that baffles description. The drive to the Mission Ghat from the Residency was through serried lines of twinkling lights, whieh crowned each fortalice, ami twinkled bravely on the little white fort, whieh dominates the landscape from the summit of the highest of the hemming hills. Then as we stepped into the manned, and masted, barges, and pushed into the unruffled blackness of the bosom of the lake a vision from fairyland burst upon us. The castellated walls, the edge of the water, the ghats an'd buildings, were outlined with dancing fire. The night was one of inky blackness, not the vestige of a zephyr stirred the dry eool air, and each one of the myriad little butties shone as gallantly as if upon its efforts depended the whole decorative scheme. The barge moved on with uneasened stroke, towards the great Piehola Lake, whose even greater glories were dimly indicated by the glow whieh hung over the eity. We were now traversing slowly the small lake w’hich connects Piehola, on whieh the Palace stands, with the Fateh. Sagar on the outskirts of the city. Shooting' under the Chandpol. for all the world like the Rialto at Venice, decked with stars, and through a deep, dark loek, we debouched; on to Piehola, and there opened out at once a seene of amazing beauty. The lake was a dancing sheet.of molten gold into which ran streaks of living fire from ghat and step house. Palace and temple. The crowded ghats on -the right, and the approaches to the Palace, were sheets of flame. The vast bulk of the Palace itself was illuminated with a simplicity whieh only heightened the general scheme. That broad faee of the olden building, whieh bluntly fronts the lake, was crowned with but a single streak of light, the more effective from its contrast with the fire steamers whieh stretched in every other direction. Then in the very bosom of the lake those exquisite Water Palaces, Jag Newas and Jag Mandas were stretched in fiery lines, whieh plunged .sheer into the molten gold of the lake's surface. Each purple freak, each flinty spire, Was bathed in floods of living fire. And this was not the hard eold light of electricity, or gas, or any of the western illuminations. Each little flame was flickering gently in the still night air, ami this, with’ the slight smoke, lent a grateful mildness and softness to the whole seene. Scarcely less remarkable was the roar of the crowd, which overbore all other sounds. The whole population of Udaipur, -and half the country side, were in the streets, demonstrating their joy in the splendid speetaele with cries and exclamations, which blended into one impressive volume of sound. It was with a feeling of infinite regret that, disembarking at the Palace steps, and climbing the steep ascent to the courtyard, one turned to, take a last look at the fairy spectacle. Nor was the natural admiration of their triumph of illuminative skill lessened by consideration of the means whereby it was obtained. Nothing more elaborate was employed than a tiny earthen saucer, a rude cotton wire, and a. few drops of eoeoanut oil. What a comment upon our mechanical development, when with this primitive means a deed* rative effect can be secured in a suitable environment, yielding nothing to the costly splendours of the West.