UDAIPUR IN BAG

I paid extra for my luggage today while returning from Udaipur. The bag was heavy—just like it should be when leaving a place that fills the heart as much as the suitcase. 

It all started in the galis—where no matter which turn you take, you somehow land up in front of art. We have a tendency to get bored of one thing in a week... we don’t even have the patience to read for long. And then I saw a man... in his little shop filled with wooden sculptures of Ganpati, frames, and horses, all carved by him—no fancy stuff, no salesman. I got really curious, and I wasn’t surprised when he said he had been doing this for 30 years. Not a single piece felt like it was made just to get the job done. Across the road, I saw a woman carving marble. She had no shed for herself, yet her talent made me pause. Uff, sometimes we are so ignorant about the effort one puts into creating art. Picking up a chapter on gratefulness, I moved to City Palace.

City Palace took me back in time, making me feel like a queen in search of a home. Every corner had something to say, but the best storyteller was our guide, Satyendra. His words brought history alive, from the great warrior Maharana Pratap to Maharaj Sajjan Singh and his 16 wives. Even now, I smile thinking of him and his stories. What a character! From City Palace, I could see two different worlds—on my left, the city, almost my reality, and on my right, a dreamy palace. Standing in the center, I realized that is life—sometimes in reality, sometimes in delusion. But Satyendra stole the show, and I brought back a picture with him that will forever stay in my gallery.

Thinking of my phone’s gallery, I have more pictures of Lake Pichola than of myself. Spending hours by the lake made me realize that water isn’t just water—it’s a storyteller. It listens, reflects, and perfectly aligns the palaces, boats, and sky into one breathtaking frame. I sat there for hours, just watching. And I swear, in that stillness, the lake spoke back. By sunset, I found myself on a boat, floating on Pichola, watching the city glow in golden light. The boatman, Ranveer Singh (yes, that’s really his name), had a twinkle in his eye as he dropped celeb names—Shakira, Bill Gates, Deepika Padukone—people he had apparently ferried. Real or not, in that moment, I believed it all. So, alongside a beautiful sunset and a view to die for, I got myself a picture with Ranveer Singh too. When I got down from the boat, walking towards Dudh Talai, admiring the beauty of Udaipur, I could hear the temple bells ringing somewhere in the distance… and it struck me that this city is nothing less than magic. It doesn’t just give you one 11:11 moment to make a wish; instead, it gives you countless bells to wish upon every time. Thus, I brought back with me the sound of bells from every temple alongside the ghats—hopefully, to remind me - never stop wishing.

By the time I packed my bags, they were full.......So Yes, I paid extra for my luggage today while returning from Udaipur. But what came back wasn’t just things; it was stories, memories, and pieces of a city that knows how to stay with you.