There are many places in the city with weird and unusual names which will make you think about the reasons and the incidents that lead to these names. If you are also one of those who has the same questions about these places, then this article will reveal everything to you.
Below is the story behind some places in Udaipur with such unusual names
Rani Road
The locals say that during the earlier time, this was the place where the royal queens or Rani used to go out to stroll. Right on the opposite side which is the Fatehsagar road right now was used to be called by the name Raja road as it was the place where the Kings or the Rajas used to go out for a walk.
Surajpole-Hathipole-Chandpole
During the ancient period in Udaipur, walls were built to protect the kingdom. To enter the city, 7 major and huge gates were built which were given different names ending with ‘pol’ which translates to gates. It is possible that these names were given to them randomly whereas the locals come up with other different logics for the names too such as Hathipol was the place where the elephants of the kingdom used to be placed, the reason behind Surajpole might be because of the fact that it is facing the east direction which is also the direction from where the sun rises, whereas Chandpol is right opposite to the Surajpole and the full moon rises just above it, so the name.
Thokar Chouraha
‘Thokar’ which means to stumble has its name because in earlier times there was a railway line which ended right at the place. To stop the bogies from going any further, the railway used to place a stumbling block which used to stop the rail bogies. This made the place famous by the name ‘Thokar Chouraha’.
Hiran Magri
Before the urbanization took over in the city, the entire area of the Hiranmagri sector was simply forest. The place was basically made up of ridges or ‘Mangre’ in Hindi. These ridges used to home various deers which are called ‘Hiran’ in Hindi. Together, the place got the identity with the name ‘Hiranmagri’.
Malla Talai
Malla Talai is an area which is nearby Lake Pichola which used to be a boat manufacturing area. These boat operators in the place were called ‘mallahs’ and so the name derived was Mallatalai.
Maldas Street
Maldas was named after a famous businessman in Udaipur names Maldas. It is basically a street for apparel and cosmetic shopping for women. There are many places in the city which are named after some people who used to start residing there in the first place.
Bhadbhuja Ghati
The name Bhadbhuja Ghati was named after the local community ‘Bhadbhujas’ who used to reside there. These people used to roast cereals in Bhaad in the earlier days. Bhaad was the high-temperature oven.
Sindhi Bazaar
After the partition of India and Pakistan, many Sindhis migrated to different cities. Many of them came to Udaipur as well. During those times, they were in need of occupation. It was then that they were allotted a market in the city for their businesses. The market then got popular with the name Sindhi Bazaar. It is said that Sindhis are very good at business.
Saifan Chouraha
Saifan Chouraha is a circle ahead of Fatehpura circle. The term Saifan actually originated from the term Siphon which is actually a tube used to convey liquid upwards and downwards from a reservoir. The similar process was witnessed at the place also. Here used to be 2 gigantic reservoirs which received water from streams so that water from tank 1 was transferred to tank 2 and then circulated to houses and fields.
Ayad
The name Ayad originated from the ancient civilization there named as Ahar. Various remains of the civilization have been excavated by the Archeological department and are showcased in a museum located in Ayad.
Bhaang Gali
This narrow lane is located inside Surajpole. As the name clearly suggests, the lane used to have Bhang shops. Bhang is the edible preparation of cannabis originating from the Indian subcontinent. Bhang Gali still owns some shops even now.
Foota Darwaza
The term ‘Foota Darwaza’ translates to the ‘broken gate’ in English. For now, you won’t find any broken gate but in earlier days, the place used to have a huge gate whose doors were broken. Today, the place has reduced to just door frames and that is the reason why it’s called Foota Darwaza.
The above information was gathered through the locals residing there. Although no authentic source can be provided, most of them make sense, don’t they?
Do you also know about any such story behind the names of places in Udaipur? Share with us in the comment section below or write to me at juhee@udaipurblog.com
