5. first stop, Udaipur.

MOU's and DO's and jargon which I can't make head or tail of.

Reviews, agendas, debriefs and meetings all through the day. 

Where am I? 

I've landed, on my first day in the organisation, in it's bi-annual review and agenda-setting process! 

Articulation of goals, inputs to achieve outcomes and constantly being aware of our emotions is what this process is about. 

Geographically I'm bunking at the Oriental Palace Resorts in Udaipur, a hotel just minutes from the station. Almost all of it has been booked for the team. We're occupying the passages, the lawns, the foyers, the restaurant and basically, any available space has been given a functional use.  It matters not that the temperature is soaring, or that our outdoor exhibit on last year's academic progress was almost soaked in the sudden drizzle. It's information overload for me, but it's also great fun. 

So, the review process was on the 10th, 11th and 12th, after which we had Sunday off, to explore Udaipur. 

Grabbing the opportunity, I took to the streets and conversed with locals, attempting to feel the pulse of the city in a day. I haggled with the auto-driver and got a decent cut to the Lake Palace. Sure that I didn't want to risk my back, I decided not to enter the Palace through it's never-ending staircases and in stead moved around it. 

Crazy wires, Street downhill from the entrance of the Palace.

Lazily roaming the streets, giving the crowded areas a miss, I wandered into tiny shops selling the best Linen pants I've seen! Comfy, soft and perfect for summer, these pants were picked up by several people from my team, as I later got to know.


Almost every wall, on the way to the palace from any direction, has the most beautiful wall-art. The paintings have a royal theme and depict the lives of the Maharajas and their subjects. Local attire, tradition, rituals and even food are themes that are inter-woven with the palace life showcased on these walls. I then followed the paintings! I didn't know where I was going, or what I might be lead to, but I just kept following what I thought was a clear sequence of events until it ended at a broken, dilapidated structure.

last painting to the sequence

Sweaty and exhausted I looked for a place to sit and saw a cut-glass inlay workshop across the street. The rest of the afternoon, I spent with the labourers and artists who were making 60 feet peacocks and 30 feet lotus flowers by cutting bits of coloured glass and embedding them into a plate-like base. I even learnt how to cut the glass without breaking it!


Having built-up a huge appetite, I located a quiet restaurant overlooking the lake and the palace. The restaurant itself seemed like it belonged to a huge, royal family. I ordered white-sauce mushroom pasta and apple strudel with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream for desert. Bliss!
As I watched the birds glide smoothly through the clear summer sky, I knew, that doing all of this alone had been a great idea. I can't imagine myself moving around in a huge group that looks touristy!

As I emerged from the restaurant, I came across a man who was chiseling out an intricate design on a solid, black stone box. I had to buy it :) Makes for an ideal gift to any of my JB teachers!

I made my way back to the hotel just in time to catch the sunset from one of the sprawling back lawns. No one from the team knew about this lawn till the next morning, when their stupid cricket-ball landed right on me! What was I doing there? What I always do when I'm with a group: find myself a nice place to hide. I'd lie on a hotel towel, with my laptop beside me (I use it primarily to blast old, classic hits) and watch the birds fly west, every evening.

Sunset, Oriental Palace Resorts, Subash Nagar, Udaipur. 

It's hot, and I'm tired from all the exploring. Next up, is a strong cold-coffee as I float in the pool. Going now, too tempted! After all, I'm heading to a no-luxury place in three days!!

Adios!