A repository of Mewar practices

Specs used by Ben Kingsley in Gandhi film latest addition

City Palace Museum has an extensive collection of  Mewar region artefacts.

City Palace Museum in Udaipur is an important spot in the itinerary of a visitor to the City of Lakes. The largest of its kind in Rajasthan, the museum is built in a flamboyant style and is a fusion of the Rajasthani and Mughal architectural styles. The museum has been built on a hill top and visitors get a panoramic view of the city and historic monuments like the Lake Palace in Lake Pichola the Jag Mandir on another island in the lake, the Jagdish Temple close to the palace, the Monsoon Palace on top of an overlooking hillock nearby and the Neemach Mata temple.

Now, the visitor has one more reason to visit the museum as it has added another historic piece of artefact to its vast collection-- the classic spectacles worn by actor Ben Kingsley in the much-acclaimed film “Gandhi” directed by Richard Attenborough  based on the life of Father of the Nation.

Oscar Award-winning producer Lord David Puttnam presented the glasses to Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar, managing trustee of Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF), at an event hosted in the honour of Lord Richard in London recently. The iconic Gandhi glasses have been kept on public display in City Palace Museum from July 20.
The museum and its collections are housed within the extensive area. In fact, the museum is divided into several pavilions and halls and each pavilion has a distinct theme of its own. The Armoury Museum exhibits a vast collection of weapons as well as protective gear used by the local warriors at the time of war. One of the pavilions known as Ruby Palace or Manak Mahal boasts a rich collection of glass and mirror work. The Krisna Vilas exhibits an exquisite collection of miniature paintings. The Moti Mahal is also attractive as it displays mirror work. The Chini Mahal of the museum is also visited by a large number of tourists as it boasts decoration with ornamental tiles.

The white pavilion known as the Lakshmi Chowk adds a lot of beauty to the museum. The Zanana Mahal or the Ladies Chamber is also a part of the attractions of the museum.

It also displays the turban of Prince Khurram, who later became emperor Shahjahan. The turban still depicts the friendship that survived between Shahjahan and Maharana Karan Singh. Prince Khurram found shelter at the historic Jag Mandir Palace along with his wife Arjumand Banu,  better known as Mumtaz Mahal, and his two sons after he rebelled against his father Mughal emperor Jahangir.

The  city palace built tier on tier over four centuries includes within its precincts an array of former royal apartments, historic courtyards, ceremonial durbar hall, delightful enclosed gardens, terraced quarters and sacred temples. 

The museum  is on the bank of the Pichola Lake, overlooked by the huge ornamental Sun, the symbol of the Sun Dynasty and the rulers of Mewar.

The museum showcases the vast repository of building practices of Mewar, with various sections of the complex clearly depicting the varied influences of the times and the personal building styles of successive custodians ranging from Rana Udai Singh II to the present, 76th custodian of the House of Mewar, Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur, Chairman and Managing Trustee of MMCF. 

Several rooms within the larger City Palace Museum have extensive wall murals depicting historic scenes from several centuries and vast sections of this painted scenography are an art historian’s delight. 

The complex furthermore displays other traditional forms of surface decoration like glass mosaic, Dutch and Chinese tile inlay, alongside “araaish” or lime plaster floors simulating marble. The use of local material and workmanship is an added testimony to the building skills of the region’s craftsmen and serves as a reminder to their unparalleled building skills.

City Palace Museum has an extensive collection of artefacts that reflect the unique cultural heritage of the region. The objects on display include, an extensive collection of Mewar paintings showcasing the continuous unbroken tradition of this art from the 16th century. 

These work of art are a source of great pride and form part of the tangible heritage of the people of Mewar. Other major collections in the museum include traditional arms and ammunition, and a large collection of photographs beginning with the arrival of the camera in India.

Some of the important collections include stone sculptures dating from early parts of the millennium, an extensive array of historic, secular and ceremonial silver ware, palanquins and other traditional modes of transport and a host of other objects of interest.

The museum continues to be the centre of excellence of the region’s tradition and is a symbol of the cultural legacy of Mewar. The museum today functions as the preserver of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Mewar in these times of rapid change and cultural homogeneity. Every year, over eight lakh visitors from India and all over the world are witness to the heritage of Mewar.

“As a living palace, the City Palace in Udaipur forms the cultural heart of the Mewar region. The MMCF, therefore ,has  taken  its  responsibility  of  preserving the  remarkable  tangible  and  intangible  cultural heritage  of   this vast  complex  very  seriously. 

 This enormous responsibility is fulfilled through a comprehensive and informed set of   initiatives. These  include  the  maintenance  and   continued development  of  City  Palace  Museum  and the  palace  complex,  preserving  local  culture  through the  celebration  of  festivals  in the  traditional  manner, documenting  and   researching  cultural  practices  and creating  forums  for  knowledge transfer,” said Bhupender Singh, in charge of the museum.

It is  particularly  challenging  because  of   lack   of good  cultural  preservation practices  in  India thus  making it  necessary  to  develop  suitable  systems  and methodologies  before  they can  be  implemented. The  MMCF's has set a goal to  be  a   world  leader  in   heritage conservation  and community  inclusion  and  the MMCF often  has   to  generate  its   own benchmarks  for  this  goal.

The MMCF is keen to share its best-practice and  conservation  experience  with   all  interested parties  and  therefore  has  an  ambitious knowledge transfer  initiative  in  addition  to  its  implementable conservation  programme.