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Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary – Birding Tours in Udaipur

Sitamata sanctuary is a visual treat for all the nature lovers and bird watchers. It is situated at a distance of about 165 km from Udaipur in the Pratapgadh district. As far as the Biota is concerned, Sitamata is one of the richest Sanctuary. It includes mammals of 50 different species and birds of 325 species which includes Herons, egrets, storks, spoonbills, partridge, quail, crane, peafowls, kingfishers, woodpeckers, sparrows, robins, etc. It’s not that the flora and fauna in here are any less. It has somewhere around 100 varieties of medicinal plants and trees like peepal, bad, neem, kachnar, babool, amaltas, ashok, khejdi, semal, bamboo etc.

Undoubtedly this wildlife sanctuary is the treasure for those seeking adventure into the wild. However, if you do not have proper directions, information, and guidance, it might be possible that you cannot get the most out of it. To prevent such situations, there are several agencies that organize birding tours that include exploration of all the natural aspects of the sanctuary. Below are two organizations which help the tourists explore the beauty of the sanctuary through their birding tours.

Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary – Birding Tours in Udaipur
Source: Udaipur Times

Rajasthan Adventure and Safari tours

It conducts a 5-day birding tour which covers Parks, Lakes, and sanctuary of around Udaipur and Chittorgarh. It provides meals that is breakfast, lunch, and dinner, transportation facilities which include either Innova, Swift Dzire or Etios and a knowledgeable English speaking guide.

Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary – Birding Tours in Udaipur
Source: Pinterest
  • Day 1 where you might get to see Greater Flamingo, White-Tailed Lapwing, Pelican, Marsh Harrier, Black Kite, Green Sandpiper, Wood sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Red-wattled Lapwing, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Common Crane, Bar Headed Goose etc.
  • Day 2 covers Bathera Kalan and Ghasa Lake which is around 40 km from Udaipur. You can view birds like Common Sandpiper, Marsh Harrier, Little Grebe, Cormorants, Black-headed Ibis, Woolly-necked Stork, Water Tern, Indian Roller, Wagtails, Plain and Ashy Prinia, White-throated,Common and Pied Kingfisher, Egrets, Eurasian Coot, Purple Heron, Grey Heron, Pond Heron, Cotton Pygmy Goose etc.
  • Day 3 will lead you towards Chittorgarh from Udaipur where you may witness several birds like Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark, Red-rumped Swallow, Grey Wagtail, Olive-backed Pipit, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, Large Cuckooshrike, Small Minivet, Red-vented Bulbul, Common Iora, Long-tailed Shrike, Southern Grey-Shrike, Common Woodshrike, White-browed Fantail, Indian Robin, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Black Redstart,  Pied Bushchat, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, Verditer Flycatcher, Yellow-eyed Babbler, Common Babbler, Large Grey Babbler, etc.
Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary – Birding Tours in Udaipur
Source: Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary 1
  • On Day 4, you will explore the exquisite Sitamata bird sanctuary. It consists of some very old trees. It has plenty of wild animals and birds.
  • On day 5, you will reach the Bassi Bird Sanctuary, where, by the time of sunrise, you would be able to see birds like Lesser Whitethroat, Orphean Warbler,  Great Tit,  Purple Sunbird,  Crested Bunting,  Red-Headed Bunting,  House Sparrow,  Chestnut-shouldered Petronia,  Rock myna, Indian, etc.
  • Day 6 – departure

Contact: +91 9784724226

Address: Office no. 108. 1st floor I/s. Surajpol, behind police station, Amal ka Kanta, Udaipur-313001

Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary – Birding Tours in Udaipur
Source: Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary

India Birding

It offers two types of birding tours. One is entirely dedicated to Sitamata Sanctuary and the other one covers places in and around Udaipur and Chittorgarh. These birding tours can be conducted at any time of the year except when there is heavy rainfall, from July to August. It can be customized as per your requirement. There is a one day tour which costs around 12000 including breakfast and lunch, birding guide and one binocular with a tripod. The team size would be 4 and the vehicle would be SUV. In the 2 day tour, the cost would be 20,000, and the team size would be 4. The animals and the birds you would be able to see would vary according to the season of the year.

Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary – Birding Tours in Udaipur
Source: Oh My Rajasthan!

Another tour includes a visit to Mangalwar and Menar, Bathera Kalan, and Ghasa Lake. It is a two-day tour and will cost you around 20,000 which includes transportation from Udaipur hotel, breakfast, lunch and knowledgeable English speaking birding guide. The team would consist of minimum 2 to maximum 6 people and the vehicle will be SUV.

Contact: 9413000690

Address: s-10, Ankur Complex, Opp. Narayan Seva Sansthan, Hiran Magri Market, Sector – 4

If you think we have missed something here, please feel free to share it with us in the comment section below or you can write to me at juhee@udaipurblog.com.

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More

Udaipur’s MLA Resumes Education After 40 Years

How many times have you thought about doing something and discarded the plan saying ‘it’s too late now’? It wouldn’t be a surprise if you have recalled quite many incidents after reading the first line. It is a mere human tendency where we simply put off something which we don’t want to do using some conventional excuses.

But breaking the norms and doing what you really want to do is a road less taken. And here is one perfect example of someone who did exactly that. A rural MLA of Udaipur, Phool Singh Meena quit his studies after Class 7th. He gave up studies after his father, who was in the army, died. After his father died, he had to quit studies to take care of his family.

After he became a counselor, he had to interact with different senior officials and leaders, so his daughters insisted him to study further. He too used to think the same but he was a bit skeptical of his age. Another issue was the time needed to study. At times, during his speeches to students on different occasions, he used to preach the importance of education but he realized that his words sounded quite hollow as he himself didn’t follow his words of wisdom.

Source: Oneindia Hindi

It is truly said that if you overpower your inner devil, there’s no other obstacle in the world that can stop you from achieving something you want to. After these incidents, his conscience started kicking in and he finally decided to resume his studies. At the age of 55, he started studying for his further education after 40 years.

Today, he has cleared 10th and 12th standard and now he has started the preparation of his BA first year’s examinations. To manage his time for work and studies, he has smartly combined both. When he is traveling from one place to another, he is tutored by Sanjay Lunawat who is the Principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Manvakheda. Sanjay also sends him WhatsApp audios regarding his lessons for his smooth and uninterrupted studies. And when he is at home, his daughters help him with it. Sanjay appreciates Meena for his dedication and hard work.

Source: Udaipur Times

Meena doesn’t intend to stop after graduation but wishes to do post-graduation and Ph.D. too. His daughters are very proud of him.

That’s the thing about will. Once you are devoted towards something no one can ever stop you from doing that, let alone these societal norms, they are too shallow to stop anyone. Phool Singh Meena is an inspiration to all of us. Whether be it Meena or someone else, whether be it education or something else, the right time to begin every great thing would be right now. Meena is the living example to the quote ‘you are never too old to learn’. He teaches us that if he can do it, maybe we all can, maybe we all will.

Do you know of someone with any such inspiring story? Do you want them to get the appreciation they deserve? Then share these stories with us and we will feature them. Write to me at juhee@udaipurblog.com. If you have any feedback regarding the article, share them with us in the comment section below.

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News

First Mewari Dictionary Launched by Nirmaan Society

Nirmaan Society from Chittorgarh with the support of MMCF took a great initiative to preserve and promote the mother tongue of Mewar. A brand new Mewari word dictionary has been launched by Nirmaan Society. This is the first Mewari dictionary ever. This dictionary will help tourists as well as locals to understand the roots of the language and understand the culture of Mewar.

Nowadays, people of Mewar has forgotten about Mewari completely. Instead of that, they prefer Hindi or English. It’s not that using a certain language is wrong but one should know the regional language of the place they belong to.

Source: Eternal Mewar

This dictionary consists of Mewari songs, Mewari alphabets, a map of Mewar, process of using Mewari dictionary, abbreviations and word meanings. Most of the words gathered in the dictionary are taken from a village near Khapan tehsil. The words used in it has got checked by people from various areas in Mewar.

The Mewari dictionary is equipped with approx. 6406 words of Mewari language. Not just this but every Mewari word is combined with its English and Hindi meaning, its pronunciation, grammar related to it and the sentence constructed from the particular word in Mewari.

This Mewari dictionary has two editions one of which was published in April 2017 and the second edition was published in January 2018. The launching of the second edition of the Mewari dictionary was attended by respected Arvind Singh Mewar.

This is a beautiful initiative taken to preserve the beautiful diminishing Mewari language.  It will help all the people who are interested in the culture of Mewar and its language and through this, the culture and language of Mewar would be eternal forever. Find the soft copy of the dictionary here – https://bit.ly/2mmvQZk.

If you have any feedback regarding the article or if you think we have missed something, feel free to share it with us in the comment section below or you can also write to me at juhee@udaipurblog.com.

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People

उदयपुर के उस लड़के की कहानी जिसके सामने लन्दन, रूस और अमेरिका के डांसर्स भी पानी भरते थे.

uday shankar04

हमनें एक कड़ी शुरू की थी जिसमें हमनें हमारे शहर के उन लोगों के बारे में लिखना शुरू किया था जिन्होंने हमारे शहर का खूब नाम किया है, लेकिन अब हम उन्हें भुला चुकें हैं या फिर कुछ ही लोग हैं जो उन हस्त्तियों को जानते हैं, जैसे वैज्ञानिक दौलत सिंह कोठारी, राहुल सिंह और ऐन्द्रिता रे.

अब इसी कड़ी में आज हम उदयपुर की एक ऐसी हस्ती के बारे में आपको बताने जा रहे है जिनके इशारों पर यूरोप नाचा करता था. उसकी धाक ऐसी थी कि रूस के कलाकार उनके साथ काम करना चाहते थे. जो बाद में इंडियन फिल्म इंडस्ट्री यानि के बॉलीवुड का पहला कोरियोग्राफर बना. उनका नाम है, उदय शंकर. ये वही उदय शंकर हैं जिनके स्टूडेंट्स गुरुदत्त साहब, ज़ोहरा सहगल, शांति बर्धन आदि रह चुकें हैं. उम्मीद करता हूँ कुछ लोगों की यादों में यह पढ़ते ही एक धुंधला चेहरा उभरने लगेगा और वो जो अब तक इन्हें नहीं जानते थे आर्टिकल पढ़ने के बाद उनका नाम गूगल कर रहे होंगे.Uday Shankar

आइये देखें कैसे उदयपुर की गलियों में दौड़ते ‘उदय’ एक दिन ‘द ग्रेट उदय शंकर’ बन गए :-

बचपन :-Uday Shankar

उदयपुर शहर और दिसम्बर की ठण्ड वैसे भी फेमस है. लेकिन सन् 1900 की दिसम्बर ऐतेहासिक होने वाली थी. 8 दिसम्बर, 1900 के दिन शहर के ही एक बंगाली परिवार श्री श्याम शंकर चौधरी के घर एक बच्चे का जन्म हुआ. नाम रखा गया ‘उदय’. कोई नहीं जनता था कि इस बच्चे के जन्म के साथ ही चौधरी परिवार का भी उदय होने वाला था. श्याम शंकर चौधरी, झालावाड़ रियासत में बैरिस्टर थे. लेकिन परिवार उदयपुर रहता था.

चौधरी परिवार मूलतः नरेली से था, जो कि विभाजन के बाद अब बांग्लादेश का हिस्सा हैं. इन्हें नवाबों ने ‘हरचौधरी’ की उपाधि दी हुई थी लेकिन ये सिर्फ़ ‘चौधरी’ ही लगते थे.

Uday_Amala
उदय शंकर अपनी पत्नी अमला के साथ

पढ़ाई-लिखाई :-uday shankar dance

पिता श्याम शंकर चौधरी की नौकरी की वजह से परिवार को कई जगह रहना पड़ा. इस वजह से उदय शंकर की तालीम भी एक जगह न होकर अलग-अलग शहरों में हुई जैसे नस्रातपुर, गाज़ीपुर, बनारस और झालावाड़ आदि. इस दौरान गाज़ीपुर में उन्होंने अपनी ड्राइंग एंड क्राफ्ट टीचर, अम्बिका चरण मुखोपाध्याय से म्यूजिक और फोटोग्राफी सीखी. स्कूल खत्मः हो जाने के बाद 18 बरस की उम्र में फाइन आर्ट्स पढनें के लिए बम्बई (अब मुंबई) के जे.जे. स्कूल ऑफ़ आर्ट्स में दाख़िला ले लिया. 2 साल बाद वे लन्दन चले गए और रॉयल कॉलेज ऑफ़ आर्ट्स में एडमिशन ले लिया. वहां उन्होंने सर विलियम रोथेंस्टें के मार्गदर्शन में पेंटिंग की बारीकियां सीखीं. फ्रेंच गवर्मेंट द्वारा स्कॉलरशिप मिलने बाद वे आर्ट की एडवांस फॉर्म पढनें के लिए रोम चले गए.Uday-Shankar1

उदय शंकर के ‘उदय’ होने की शुरुआत :-uday shankar 5

इसकी शुरुआत लन्दन से ही हुई. जब उदय शंकर की मुलाक़ात दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी बैले डांसर (ballet dancer) ‘एना पव्लोवा’ से हुई. ये तब की बात है जब उदय शंकर रॉयल कॉलेज को आर्ट्स में पढ़ ही रहे थे. रशियन सेलेब्रिटी उन दिनों आर.सी.ए. में अपने ग्रुप में कुछ इंडियन लड़कों-लड़कियों की खोज में आई हुई थी. वहां किसी ने उनको उदय शंकर के बारे में बताया. हालाँकि उदय शंकर तब तक डांस और डांस फॉर्म्स से कोई लेना-देना नहीं था. लेकिन वे जिनिअस माने जाते थे. उन्हें समझ ज़रूर थी. उसकी वजह ये थी उनका भारत के लोक न्र्त्यों और नाटकों को करीब से देखना. इस वजह से एना पव्लोवा भी उनकी फेन हो गयी और उदय शंकर को अपने ग्रुप में शामिल कर लिया. दो क्रिएटिव माइंड और दो बिलकुल अलग कल्चर/फॉर्म्स जब एक साथ स्टेज पर उतरी तो लन्दन और अमेरिका जैसे देशों में तहलका मचना शुरू हो गया. लम्बे समय तक चला ये कोलैबोरेशन बहुत फेमस हुआ. इसके बाद उदय शंकर ने पेरिस में अपना एक अलग ग्रुप खोल लिया.Uday_Shankar_and_Ana_Pavlova_in_'Radha-Krishna'_ballet,_ca_1922

उदय शंकर का भारत लौटना :-uday shankar04

सन् 1929 में उन्होंने भारत आने का निश्चय किया और अपना खुद का एक ग्रुप खोलने की सोची. सन् 1938 में अल्मोड़ा, उत्तर प्रदेश में उन्होंने स्कूल खोला. जो आगे चलकर उदय शंकर इंडियन कल्चर सेंटर के नाम से फेमस हुआ. इस दौरान उन्होंने अपने ग्रुप के साथ कई परफॉरमेंस दीं जो न सिर्फ़ इंडिया में बल्कि वेस्टर्न कन्ट्रीज में भी पोपुलर हुई. वो अपने स्कूल में कई फेमस गेस्ट फेकल्टीज़ भी बुलाते थे. इसी स्कूल के नोटेबल अलुमिनी की बात करें तो उनमें शामिल है, हिंदी सिनेमा के महान डायरेक्टर/एक्टर ‘गुरुदत्त साहब’ और महान अदाकारा ‘ज़ोहरा सहगल’.

Uday_Shankar_Ballet_Troupe,_ca_(1935-37)
उदय शंकर अपने ग्रुप के साथ

रबिन्द्रनाथ टैगोर और उदय शंकर :-

नोबल प्राइज़ विनर ‘श्री रबिन्द्रनाथ टैगोर’ उदय शंकर के बहुत बड़े फेन रहे हैं. वो उनकी इतनी इज्ज़त करते थे कि जब उदय शंकर भारत लौट रहे थे तो उनके स्वागत के लिए टैगोर खुद पहुँच गए. एक और बात रबिन्द्रनाथ टैगोर ने ही उदय शंकर को भारत में स्कूल खोलने के लिए कहा ताकि यहाँ के लोग उनसे सीख सकें.

कुछ और बातें :- 

uday shankar and alice boner
ऐलिस बोनेर और उदय शंकर
  • सन् 1931 में उदय शंकर की ऐलिस बोनेर से मुलाकात हुई, ऐलिस बोनेर स्विस पेंटर और स्कलप्चर आर्टिस्ट थे जिन्हें उदय शंकर के साथ पुरे यूरोप में इंडियन डांस अकादमी खोलने का श्रेय जाता है.
  • महान सितार वादक पंडित रवि शंकर, उदय शंकर के सबसे छोटे भाई हैं.

    Uday shankar_Ravi shankar_1970
    भाई उदय शंकर को तिलक लगाते पंडित रवि शंकर
  • उदय शंकर ने भारत की पहली हिंदी फिल्म ‘कल्पना’ बनाई जिसमें क्लासिकल डांसर्स लीड एक्ट्रेस थी.uday shankar 05
  • सत्यजीत रे और उदय शंकर ने साथ मिलकर डॉक्युमेंट्री भी बनाई है.
  • उदय शंकर को पद्म विभूषण के अलावा संगीत नाटक अकादमी और संगीत नाटक अकादमी फेलोशिप जैसे ढेर सारे अवार्ड्स और सम्मान मिले हैं.
  • उदय शंकर की बेटी ममता शंकर भी बहुत अच्छी डांसर के साथ-साथ एक्ट्रेस भी है, वो खुद एक डांस टीचर है और अपने पिता की लिगेसी को ज़ारी रखे है.Uday_shankar03

uday shankar4

Categories
Events

PURPLE RUN – Udaipur’s Biggest Running Event at Forum Celebration Mall Udaipur!

Our City’s very own The Celebration Mall turned to FORUM Celebration Mall earlier this year. It is now a part of FORUM Malls, a Prestige Group Enterprise which owns and manages more than 7 shopping malls in 6 different cities of India.

In the year 2017 Forum started “Purple Run” with an aim to create awareness about Alzheimer’s disease.  With more than 10,000 runners across the country, the event was an instant success among health enthusiasts. Now in 2018 with the advent of newer dimensions to the largest mall of Udaipur, FORUM Celebration Mall along with 6 other malls across the country are going to organize this year’s Purple Run on 30th September 2018. This is planned to be Udaipur’s Biggest Running event with more than 2000 runner across 4 different categories running to create awareness about Alzheimer’s.

 

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking, and behavior. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer’s, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks. The stats suggest, in India more than 4 million people suffer from some form of dementia and it’s the 5th leading cause of death in people over 55 years of age.

We the people of Udaipur shop and have a gala time at the Forum Celebration Mall every time. Now, it’s our turn to make a mark in Udaipur’s history. It’s time to make it BIG by participating in Purple Run. Anyone and everyone can be part of Udaipur’s biggest running event. With 4 running categories, you can participate in either competitive or non-competitive races for 3km, 5km, 10km, and 21km.

Register to Win prizes worth 17 Lacs: http://bit.ly/PurpleRunUdaipur 

This year, the Purple Run will target more than 20,000 participants running across 7 malls in 6 cities for the same cause on the same day.

Schedule of Purple Run:

  • Race categories – 3 km, 5 km, 10 km and 21km
  • Event Date: Sunday, 30th September 2018, 5:00 AM
  • Free registrations for children under 12 years and adults above 55 years
  • 30% discount on bulk booking of 100 and above
  • Timing Chip is mandatory to compete for the first 3 places in all the 4 categories. Ranks and prizes will be given to those with Timing Chip only.
  • For 21Km the minimum age to participate is 18 years and for 10Km, 5Km & 3Km run all minors must be accompanied by adults.
  • The last date for entry for each category is 26th Sep 2018, Thursday, 9 pm or as soon as running places are filled, whichever is earlier.
  • Registration Fee to include – BIB, T-shirt, Medal, First aid kit, Food & Beverage Coupon
  • The last date to register for the event is Wednesday, 26th September 2018 before 9 PM.

 So, get ready to join hands for Udaipur’s Biggest Running event! 

Categories
News

Udaipur’s new SP – Kunwar Rashtradeep

Rajendra Prasad Goyal, current SP of Udaipur, has been replaced by the new Superintendent of Police, Kunwar Rashtradeep. The orders were released late last night by the State Government.

Before the forthcoming assembly elections, transfer orders of 75 officers across the state were released by the Rajasthan Government. After which, Kunwar Rashtradeep has been appointed as the new Superintendent of Police, Udaipur. Rajendra Prasad Goyal, the current SP of Udaipur, is transferred as the SP, Crime Branch in Jaipur.

Before this, Kunwar Rashtradeep was serving as the DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) in Jaipur. In the advisory of the election commission, it has been mentioned that people who have spent a long time at one location should be transferred. IPS officers’ posting of batch 201 was also awaiting, hence the move was mandatory. In the same concern, Rajendra Prasad Goyal has been serving as the SP of Udaipur for 3 years now.

Categories
News

मिठाइयाँ बांटो – दुनिया के सबसे अच्छे शहरों में उदयपुर को तीसरा स्थान

udaipur
Photo By: Kayak

अब तो ऐसी ख़बरों की उदयपुर वालों को आदत हो गयी है। फिर भी बधाइयाँ तो बनती है। इसके हक़दार हैं हम सभी उदयपुरवाले। Travel & Leisure, एक ट्रेवल मैगज़ीन है जो हर साल दुनिया भर के शहरों का सर्वे करती है और उनमें से चुनिन्दा शहरों की रैंकिंग हम तक पहुँचाती है। इस बार T+L (Travel & Leisure) ने दुनिया के टॉप 15 शहरों की रैंकिंग निकली है। इसमें उस शहर का कल्चर, आसपास की स्थिति, खाने-पीने से लेकर शौपिंग तक यानि की ओवरआल वैल्यू को परखा जाता है। ये सभी 15 शहर दुनिया भर से उठाये हैं जिसमें उदयपुर ने बाजी मारकर 3rd रैंक हासिल की है. यह मैगज़ीन अपने रीडर्स से वोटिंग करवाती है।

ये वही मैगज़ीन जिसनें उदयपुर को 2009 में दुनिया का सबसे बेहतरीन शहर घोषित किया था। इस बार भी टॉप फिफ्टीन में इंडिया से सिर्फ़ उदयपुर का ही नाम आया है। दिल्ली और मुंबई जैसे टूरिस्ट डेस्टिनेशन भी पीछे छूट गए हैं।

Sheesh Mahal overlooking Lake Pichola
Photo By: The Leela Palace

उदयपुर न सिर्फ़ यहाँ पर बने पैलेस, होटल्स, म्यूजियम और आर्किटेक्चर की वजह से फेमस है इन सबके अलावा प्राकृतिक रूप से भी उदयपुर धनवान है।

MMCF के चेयरमैन और मैनेजिंग ट्रस्टी, श्रीजी अरविन्द सिंह जी मेवाड़ का कहना है कि, “ये सभी शहरवासियों के लिए गर्व की बात है। मैं सभी गवर्मेंट एजेंसी और टूरिज्म डिपार्टमेंट को बधाई देना चाहता हूँ जिनके लगातार प्रयासों से उदयपुर इस मुकाम को हासिल कर पाया है।”

udaipur
Photo Courtesy: Trvl-media

हर साल बढ़ते टूरिस्ट इस बात की गवाही देते है कि वाक़ई उदयपुर ये मुकाम हासिल करने योग्य है। उदयपुर न सिर्फ़ देसी यहाँ तक की विदेशी पर्यटकों की पहली चॉइस बनता जा रहा है। इस बात का सबूत  है ये आंकड़े :-

सन् 2017 में मई  महीने तक कुल देसी पर्यटकों की संख्या 2,74,742 थी वहीँ 2018 में बढ़कर 3,11,442 हो गई। अगर विदेशी पर्यटकों की बात की जाए तो लगभग 89,000 के मुकाबले सन् 2018 में लगभग 96,000 विदेशी पर्यटक अब तक उदयपुर घूमने आ चुके हैं।

udaipur
Photo Courtesy: d1ljaggyrdca1l

इनके पीछे कई कारण है जैसे झीलों का भरे रहना, टूरिस्ट डिपार्टमेंट और गवर्मेंट का लगातार इस सेक्शन पर फोकस्ड रहना। सिटी पैलेस म्यूजियम का खुद आगे चल कर इनिशिएटिव लेना, म्यूजियम कल्चर को बढ़ावा देना वगैरा-वगैरा।

लेकिन अब जिम्मेदारी बढ़ जाती है। इतने से खुश होने वाली बात नहीं है। सुधार की गुंजाइश हमेशा बनी रहती है। हमारी और आपकी कोशिश यही रहेगी कि सन् 2009 का इतिहास दुबारा दोहराया जाए। 🙂

T+L की रैंकिंग देखने के लिए इस लिंक को क्लिक कर सकते है :- https://www.travelandleisure.com/worlds-best/cities#palace-and-lake-pichola-udaipur-rajasthan-india-03

 News Courtesy: NDTV Beeps

Categories
News

Are We Easily Accepting the Insane Decisions of Government? | Internet Ban in Udaipur

Rajasthan is witnessing an action that is unprecedented in the history of a democracy anywhere in this world. Rajasthan officials enforced a two-day statewide internet ban with arbitrary geographical boundaries. The reason for this was to deter cheating at the Rajasthan State Constable Examination.

Administrators in each district had to pass orders to shut down the cellular internet (and home broadband services too maybe) on the last weekend from 8AM-5PM in the day [copy of an order from Divisional Commissioner, Udaipur]. This is the first time something of this scale happened but Rajasthan is no stranger to regional internet bans. We are being normalized for what is an extreme action. This time the reason for the shutdown was to deter cheating at a government examination. Shutdown internet for the whole state to stop cheating at an exam makes perfect sense.

Folks at Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC) have been tracking the Internet Shutdowns across India for last four years. According to InternetShutdowns.in, state of Rajasthan has seen 25 shutdowns in this duration which is second highest for any state in India after J&K! SFLC’s handbook on Internet Shutdowns in India is fairly useful policy primer on the issue.

This meant a loss of livelihood to many (cab drivers, mobile recharge shops, food delivery businesses, remote employees, freelancers, the list goes on). Approximately, the transaction of around 20 crores was interrupted, 14,000 e-tickets were not booked, roadways tickets suffered a loss of 5% and similarly, numerous people suffered from the ban. This directly negated the whole idea of digital India and the push to digital payment that came after demonetization. This is probably harmful in a hundred more ways. None of these shutdowns are properly communicated. The government simply is not even interested to gauge in the economic and other losses as a result of these bans to a state of 6.89 Crore people!

It is even more important that you make yourself heard because there is no framework or metric right now that the Office of District Magistrate or any official higher in the ladder uses to decide what events/occasions duly require a blanket ban (if any at all!). By not speaking, you are surrendering your rights to access the internet which is equivalent only to let the government decide when you get to be online and when not.

I am not sure if you or your friends are directly affected but we still need to hold our administration accountable at this moment. Only because this is an immense power exercise!

We need our government to answer a few really basic questions:

  • What is the process of arriving at the conclusion of such a blanket ban?
  • How are geographical boundaries in ban enforced? Who is enforcing these boundaries?
  • What all exams in the future will require a blanket ban?
  • What is significantly different about these exams that we have to resort to an action of this scale? An order like this is unprecedented in the history of our country (or any country probably)

To put things in perspective, internet bans are used around the world even by authoritarian regimes only in dire needs and at times of revolt (think Arab spring). We are a liberal democracy seeing this enforced so casually. This is normalization!

Categories
History and Culture

Did You Know? Queen Elizabeth II visited Udaipur

Rare Historical Photos

54 years back, Her Royal Majesty, visited India just after independence in January 1961. She alongside Prince Philip landed at the Delhi airport and was greeted by the Indian President Mr. Rajendra Prasad and Premier Pandit Nehru. After her visit to Delhi, Jaipur and, Agra, she visited the Maharani of Udaipur. In Udaipur, The Queen of England was introduced to the members of Darbar who were dressed in traditional Rajasthani Paridhan including jewelry and iconic Safa Pagdi. The Queen and Duke also visited Shiv Niwas, the water palace.

Getty Images

A video coverage of the Queen’s visit to India was documented by British Pathé.

 

                              About British Pathé

 

Wikipedia

In olden times, people used to rely on theaters for all the news of the world.

  ” Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 until 1970 in the United Kingdom. Its founder, Charles Pathé, was a pioneer of moving pictures in the silent era. The Pathé News archive is known today as British Pathé”

                      -Wikipedia

 

British Pathé is considered as “one of the finest newsreel archives” in the world. It has a genuine collection of over 85,000 newsreel of historical and cultural importance.

 

The British Pathé YouTube channel consists of some bizarre, delightful and historical events from all around the world. From Fashion shows to war documentaries and from deaths of prominent personalities to some of the greatest inventions, it contains everything to keep you hooked. You might also come across some things first of their kind in their collection of documentaries.

 

The documentary featuring Queen’s visit is in three parts in which you can see how beautifully India and its monuments are captured. In the Reel- 2 of the documentary, Udaipur is featured and one can very well see how journalists, from all over the world, gathered in order to capture every moment. Moreover, local people can be seen in large numbers, sitting and waiting to catch one glimpse of the Queen.

Pinterest

 

Furthermore, while reading this, you might be wondering about the big, white statue of “The Queen” currently placed in The Saraswati Library, Gulab Bagh, so FYI, the statue is of Queen Victoria. She was entitled Empress of India on 1 May 1876. Queen Elizabeth II is Great-Great Granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The statue was removed immediately after Independence when a riot took place. It was then replaced by the statue of Gandhi Ji.

 

Here is the video featuring Queen’s visit to Udaipur:

Categories
News

9 Techno NJR students selected for Silicon Valley Visit

9 students of Udaipur based engineering college Techno NJR  have been selected for Student Startup Exposure Program of Government of Rajasthan under which 100 students of Rajasthan colleges will be sent to Silicon Valley situated in California, USA for 15 days exposure to entrepreneurship. All expenses for the visit will be paid by the Department of Information Technology. This is the highest number of students selected from a single college.

Selected Techno NJR  students have been working on their startup ideas and created a video of their work and submitted to the Department of Information Technology. Based on their videos they were shortlisted and called for a final interview at Jaipur. Techno NJR has created a culture of Startup and entrepreneurship through the establishment of Incubation Centre at the college where students work on real-life problems in the area of  Cloud, Machine Learning, Artificial intelligence, Business Analytics, Augmented and Virtual Reality, IoT and 3D Printing. 

Winning students are doing their B.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering ( CSE)  and Electronics & Communications (ECE). Three selected students have just completed their first year of Engineering only.

 

Honorable CM Vasundhara Raje and Shri Akhil Arora, Principal Secretary of Rajasthan government’s Department of Information Technology and Communication have been relentlessly making efforts to nurture the state’s startup ecosystem and have been attempting to turn the state into the heart of India’s startup ecosystem. During Rajasthan Digifest 3.0 held in Udaipur on 3-5 December 2017, Hon’ble CM had mentioned about this scheme. In this Digifest, Techno NJR students had won the first Runner up prize of Rs. 10 lacs.

( Techno NJR students team receiving Prize of Rs. 10 Lacs from Hon’ble CM in Rajasthan Digifest)