The well-maintained milestones informed us about the arrival of Kota, a city of rich historical background and great industrial achievements. Kota was actually carved out of Bundi by Maharaja Rao Ratan Singh for his second son Rao Madho Singh in 1631. His sense of justice and love for his son must have driven him to do so, as splitting a kingdom was not a norm in Rajputana except Shekawati. Usually one heir was chosen amongst the many legible ones or they had to fight out amongst themselves to decide about the next king. Such times were full of intrigues and never easy. Kurosawa tried to capture this nicely in his movie titled “Ran.” But, Ratan Singh would never have imagined that one day, Kota would overshadow, if not wipe out Bundi (all electrical engineers can relate this somewhat to the Lenz’s Law). Kota embraced modernity and industrialisation with open hands and today, if you ask 10 people whether they know Kota or Bundi in a better way, I am sure Kota will get a 10/10.
Kota boasts of being a hub for IIT aspirants, having the world’s largest fertilizer plant, a nuclear power plant, and being the fifth largest city in Rajasthan, whereas Bundi has gone into complete oblivion. Only hard core tourists end up at Bundi to get a rustic feel of rural Rajasthan, while Kota is a bustling city with a great future. Crossing the river Chambal, we nearly missed our way and after being misguided by many, we found the way to Garh Palace. During all this confusion and chaos, Maharaja of Jhalawar called up to know about the expected arrival, arrangement of beds, and other details. I was really impressed by his courteousness and down-to-earth attitude. Moving past the Kishore Sagar, we took the narrow and encroached lanes to reach the Garh Palace of Kota. Kishore Sagar, an artificial lake, means the same to Kota what lake Pichhola means to Udaipur. The likeliness continues with the building of palaces in each of them. But, in terms of beauty, there is no comparison whatsoever between the two.
Garh Palace, situated right in the middle of old fortified city, is a collection of Palaces. The design and defence mechanisms indicate that the palace must have been erected during peaceful times. Unlike Bundi, here only a gate followed by a moat with a bridge comes on the way to the main palatial complex. No Challenge could be made with this sorry state of defence. Leaving the driver, we moved into the well-maintained Garh Palace Complex. Here, too, elephants are in limelight, but this time no puzzle to engage you. The two different trunks come from both side to form the arch, unlike the curious case of Hathipol in Bundi that creates an illusion with interweaved trunks. The gate as well the ceiling was profusely painted in bright colours.
The many rooms around the main courtyard that once served as residence for the royals have been stuffed with objects that try to recreate the royal lifestyle. The first room has many interesting things including a washing machine, floating seat, a massive stuffed elephant. Next, we moved into the Diwan-e-Aam that had some exquisite murals done with glass all over the walls and ceilings as well. The royal armoury that was showcased on either sides of a passage brought on display some of the finest guns and swords. The lower levels had some stuffed man-eaters but what i found interesting was a Gharial skin and a candid B&W shot showing the maharajas of Kota, Bundi & Bikaner in a jovial mood.
Like its creation, Kota inherited the Art tradition that Bundi had and later developed its own identity. A small but impressive collection of Miniatures in Kota School were also put on display. Vishvadarshan Hathi struck out in the entire gallery for its imagination. We could have easily missed out the best kept secret, had we missed the guide whom we met at Bundi, escorting foreign tourists inside a closed passage. “Are you the same who dropped your lens?” he asked. Starting a conversation, I asked him about the hidden chambers of the palace. When I learned that the palace is worth a visit, I decided to have a look what if I had to take an extra ticket of Rs. 50 INR per head. Remember, you live only once, go all out!
What distinguished that forbidden chamber from others is (a) the high concentration of miniatures painted over years covering a vast array of subjects including Kipling, a nayika having a bath, Shrinathji of Eklingji, a royal court, (b) use of mirror and (c) lavishness & crafty display of ivory. Keeping track of the ticking clock, we left the complex after a photo-shoot. Nothing else was left on the agenda for Kota; may be some light snack and then a departure for Jhalawar was on the cards but not before having a glance at the Royal Cenotaphs at Keshar Bagh. We moved on and landed at the beautifully maintained park that was originally designed during the princely times quite like the Phool Bagh in Gwalior and Sayaji Baug in Vadodara. The swimming pool that once had royal visitors is in shambles today. The park was abuzz with idlers; schoolchildren enjoying rides on their way back from school; local lovebirds scampering for bushes; some families on picnic. We had nothing to do and eat as the monkey menace right at the parking forced dad to abandon whatever we had in the vehicle itself. It was already lunchtime but we decided to skip the lunch and leave for Jhalawar.
Just as we took the circumferential road around the Kishore Sagar, we stopped for a while at Keshar bagh. Many times I have commented about the historical & heritage consciousness of we Indians, but somehow I cannot stop myself from doing so whenever I saw blatant ignorance time and again. This park quite common in concept amongst all Hindu princely states was basically a burial cum memorial ground. The cenotaphs were quite packed around the Bagh and in great state of preservation. Altough the saddening part is that now this place has been taken over by dubious sadhus, and babas who indulge in narco-pleasures. The place has become a resting place for criminals and anti-social elements, if not lovers. A water channel that runs through the bagh and meets the Kishore Sagar is now used for Bath. I somehow was concluding that Kota has disparaged its tourism potential for Industrial growth, however, what one needs to understand that both can go hand-in-hand with corporate houses adopting these uncared edifices.
We went in for a round around the Kishore Sagar primarily to shoot the Jag Mandir and the birdlife. Although the bird life was impressive with some gorgeous pelicans but what was disturbing is the sorry state of the lake. It was full with debris – human and industrial; thermocol blocks, Rubber tubes, human excreta and what not. There was an all pervasive foul smell caused by the process of rot that goes on unabated. Sur Sagar in Bikaner was much in the same state when it actually came on the election manifesto and was cleaned up. Jag Mandir that sits amidst this lake and built with red sandstone looks great but loses its photogenic quotient because of the high level of suspended particles in air that makes the pictures blunt & dull. I tried my best and moved on by some hunger quenching by “Gat.” The drive from Kota to Jhalawar was relaxing as post Kota the roads were empty with negligible traffic. The region was quite green with many rivulets irrigating the fertile patches. Soon we entered the Jhalawar District with open cast mines on either side. Quarries offering raw stone slabs and chiselled stone pieces came up regularly. Population was feeble and the vastness was overwhelming. Cluster of village households came up and went by quietly. The abundance of stone could be gauged from the fact that even boundaries for households & quarries have been made by stacking waste pieces of sandstone slabs.
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