Light & Sound Show in City Palace Udaipur
Light & Sound Show in City Palace Udaipur is a depiction of the glorious past of Mewar and its brave Sisodiya dynasty. It narrates unparalleled sacrifices made by the royal clan during 1500 years long history. The show lets you know grand and beautiful architectural landmarks achieved while City Palace of Udaipur was constructed. City Palace in Udaipur is the largest palace complex in Rajasthan. It was constructed by Maharana Udai Singh when he decided to shift his capital to Udaipur from Chittorgarh. The construction of palace began in 1553 AD. After Maharana Udai Singh many more additions were done to the architecture of the palace by his successors, so the present architecture is result of all those additions too. The City Palace was built in a flamboyant style. The palace was built at hills, somewhere on Aravali ranges.
The architecture of the palace was completed by using granite and marble. It is a harmonic mixture of Rajasthani and Mughal architecture. At present European and Chinese architecture styles are also seen in this palace. The City Palace consists of various towers, domes and arches as well as courtyards, pavilions, terraces, corridors, rooms and hanging gardens. The palace is situated on the east bank of Lake Pichola. The view of lake makes the palace more beautiful. There are three gateways in the palace — Badi Pol or great gate is main entry gate and it leads to first courtyard; Tripola Pol is a northern entry gate. Badi Pol leads to Tripola Pol. It is a triple arched gate which was built in 1725. Hathi Pol, across Tripola Gate, is another gate known as elephant gate.
There are eight beautifully aligned marble ‘torans’ or arches. It is said that Maharana used to weigh themselves against silver and gold and later that was distributed among the local people.
Amar Vilas is the uppermost court inside the complex. It is built in Mughal style and consists of hanging gardens, towers, terrace and fountains. Bhim Vilas is a gallery which has collection of miniature paintings which represent stories of Radha-Krishna. Krishna Vilas has a rich collection of miniature paintings which give a glimpse of events during the time of Maharanas. Lakshmi Vilas Chowk is an art galary. Mewar paintings are kept in it. Mor Chowk was built during the reign of Sajjan Singh. The chamber of Chowk consists of three peacocks which represent the three seasons – summer, winter and monsoon. The peacocks were casted using glass material, which has three colors – green, gold and blue. The upper level of this chowk consists of a balcony which is decorated using glass. The purpose of Manak Mahal was to accumulate formal audience of Mewar rulers. One of the most admirable views of it is an alcove which was raised using mirror glass work. Sheesh Mahal was built by Maharana Pratap for his wife Maharani Ajabde. The palace has mirrors and glasses in its decoration. Zenana Mahal, in 1974, was converted into a museum which is open for all. Badi Mahal is also known as garden palace. It has a swimming pool which was used for holi celebration. The other attractions of this complex are beautiful wall paintings of Jag Mandir, Lord Vishnu, elephant fight scene etc. Rang Bhavan was built to keep the royal treasure. There are three temples of Lord Krishna, Meerabai & Lord Shiva. Chini Chitrashala has vast collection of attractive Chini and Dutch ornamental tiles. Choti Chitrashala was built in 19th century and consists of pictures of peacocks. Dilkhusha Mahal was built in 1620. It has beautiful wall paintings. Durbar Hall was built in 1909 during the reign of Fateh Singh. It is a part of Fateh Prakash Palace which has collection of weapons and portraits of Maharanas. Fateh Prakash Place is now used as luxury hotel which has a crystal gallery. Historic attractions like Jagdish Temple, Monsoon Palace and Lake Palace are near to the City Palace in Udaipur.
The Light & Sound Show is conducted in two languages – Hindi & English. In Hindi, it is called “Yash Ki Dharohar” and in English “Legacy of Honour”. This is the first show in India which is organized by a private sector organization instead of any government organization. The show was started to give a glimpse of history of Mewar to tourists. The Show location is Manak Chowk. The one hour duration of show consists of 12 episodes which give a brief of 15 centuries of history related to Mewar. It includes the foundation of Mewar, Johar of rani Padmini, the story of Mughal emperor Humayun and rani Karmavati, the sacrifice of Pannadhai to save Udai Singh.
Location: Manak Chowk, City Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan 313001
Opening Days: The show is hosted every day
Timings of the Show:
(a) Show in Hindi: from May to August and timing is 8 pm to 9 pm.
(b) Show in English: from September to April and timing from September to May is 7 pm to 8 pm but in April timing is 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm.
Tickets: There are two sitting arrangement one at ‘Hathnalki Chandni’ and another is at ‘ManakChowk’.
For English Show:
Tickets for Hathnalki Chandan: For an adult: Rs. 500; for a child (8-12 years): Rs. 200
Tickets for Manak Chowk: for an adult: Rs.200; for a child (8-12 years): Rs. 100
For Hindi Show: Tickets for Hathnalki Chandan: For an adult: Rs. 250; for a child (8-12 years): Rs. 150
Tickets for Manak Chowk: for an adult: Rs.150; for a child (8-12 years): Rs. 100
Suggested Tours
5 Days Delhi Agra Jaipur Udaipur Tour
8 Days Golden Triangle with Udaipur Tour
10 Days Best of Rajasthan Tour
