CULTURE OF UDAIPUR – UDAIPUR CULTURAL HERITAGE – UDAIPUR RAJASTHAN CULTURE

Experience & Explore the Culture of Udaipur !!

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Udaipur has received a rich cultural heritage from the bygone ages. The lakes, temples, huge forts, and palaces boast about the rich legacy of this city. The city has kept a balance between preserving the rituals and traditions of the past while keeping up with the modern advancements and changes in lifestyle. Like any other place in the state of Rajasthan, folk dance and music have an important place in adding to the city’s cultural richness. The dynamic and vibrant dances of Bhavai, Ghoomar, Kachchhi Ghodi, Kalbeliya, and Terahtaali add a sparkle to the rich cultural heritage of Udaipur.

Udaipur is a romantic land that had been a favorite place of the Rajputs. This beautiful city has received a rich cultural heritage from the bygone age. If you are planning to tour Udaipur, it is quite necessary to know about the culture, customs, and traditions that the city follows. In the present times, Udaipur has adopted the lifestyle of big cities still there are some customs and traditions in the city that would be new for you. Mewari is the primary language of Udaipur, yet Rajasthani, Hindi, and English are also common in the city. Jainism is the main religion which is observed in Udaipur. Other religions include Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, and Christianity in the decreasing order.

• Ghoomar dance is a part of the royal culture of the Mewar Region of Rajasthan. This is a community dance for women and performed on auspicious occasions where the ladies move gracefully in circles.
• Kalbelia, one of the most sensuous dance forms of Rajasthan, is performed by the Kalbeliya snake charmers’ community with the Sapera dancers wearing long, black skirts embroidered with silver ribbons.
• Bhavai dance consists of veiled women dancers balancing up to seven or nine brass pitchers as they dance nimbly, pirouetting, and then swaying with the soles of their feet perched on the top of a glass or the edge of the sword.
• Kachchhi Ghodi dance is performed on dummy horses where men in elaborate costumes ride the equally well-decorated dummy horses. Holding naked swords, these dancers move rhythmically to the beating of drums and fifes.

Following a lineage of age-old traditions and adhering to religious significance, the various dances complement the fairs and festivals held in the city. The city’s music consists mainly of the use of Morchang, Naad, Tanpura, and Sarangi, among many other instruments, that used to echo in the courts of the erstwhile rulers of the state.

Miniature paintings are amongst the most famous paintings developed under the patronage of the rulers of Rajasthan. The simplest among these are done on walls, and through folk in style, they nevertheless have some of the flavors of frescoes one sees in the old palaces. The tradition of painting the wall of houses with scenes from mythological and chivalric tales has been prevalent in Rajasthan for the past many centuries. The people of the city make use of such wall paintings for decorations during wedding celebrations. Noted amongst the miniature style of paintings are particularly the Pichvais, which are those made on cloth, and Phad, made on cloth scroll in a folk style.

The Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal is a cultural institution based in the city. The institute with its museum is a platform that displays a collection of Rajasthani culture. Offering an insight into the lifestyle of the royal era in Udaipur, the museum has a fine collection of dresses, tribal jewelry, turbans, dolls, masks, musical instruments, paintings, and puppets. With various cultural events including folk song and dance performances, theatre, and puppetry, the institute highlights the different social stigmas, thereby proving to be a powerful education tool for the masses.