Class 12 trip to Udaipur

A trip to Udaipur was arranged for the students of class XII. On 22nd March, 2017, all the students assembled at the Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station and boarded the Mewar Express for Udaipur. We reached Udaipur by 7:30 the next morning and made our way to our hotel, which was about a 30 minute drive from the station. The hotel was very charming and we were very excited about staying there.

After a change and bite, the group assembled again to visit the City Palace Museum. The museum was a treasure trove with endless exhibits of the place down the ages, including amazing memorabilia of the royals. We spent 3 hours seeing the displays in the numerous galleries and then made our way to the Fatehsagar Lake.

The lake was picturesque and the tranquility seemed to be enhanced against the burnt orange beams of the evening sun. After spending some time at the lake, we headed back to our hotel and retired after an early dinner.

The third day of our trip was extremely interesting. We left our hotel early in the morning and headed to the Kumbalgarh Fort, which was about 90 kms away. The fort was humungous and spread across a vast area. It look extremely striking too. The students were quite curious about the many tactical secret tunnels and spaces incorporated in the design of the fort!

After an ethnic Rajasthani lunch enroute, the students proceeded to visit the Ranakpur Temple. Words can scarcely do justice to the resplendence of the Ranakpur Temple. It simply took our breaths away! The fine carvings and the sheer proportions were samples of unique craftsmanship. We ended the day with a hearty dinner at the hotel.

We finished seeing Udaipur with a visit to the Saheliyon ki Bari and the Pratap Memorial the next morning, which is when we checked out of our hotel. Saheliyon Ki Bari is a cluster of interestingly laid gardens. The visit to the Pratap Memorial was short, but very informative. We then left Udaipur and headed to Mount Abu, which was 5 hours away by bus. The group played some games enroute on the bus and also stopped for lunch.

As we approached the climes of Mount Abu, the difference in the temperature was immediately palpable. The air felt fresh too. We checked into our hotel, which was comfortable and rested after lunch. In the evening we drove to the Nakki Lake which was quite a spectacle, in the lap, as it were of the heights. Students walked around the shops and sampled street food around the lake. We then proceeded to Sunset Point where we stood watching a glorious sun down.

The last day of our trip hung heavy as we were not ready to return yet! But we were kept busy with a visit to the Om Shanti Bhawan, also known as the Universal Peace Hall. A few moments were spent in complete silence as we walked around there.

Finally we reached the Dilwara Temples, a group of 5 remarkable marble temples. These are a special heritage and exquisitely conserved. We headed back to our hotel to freshen up and have lunch (We had already checked out in the morning.)

We proceeded to the Abu Road railway station in the evening and had dinner at a local restaurant. Our train was to leave at 11:45 pm, but it got a little late, leaving time for the group to prolong their stay by just that little bit! We arrived in Delhi the following afternoon, armed with enriching memories of a class excursion, possibly one of our last at School.

Vedant Batra, class XII-A.