One of the reasons for staying in Kumbhalgarh was to watch “Sound and Light show”. I have a strong liking for light shows and I try not to miss an opportunity to visit these kind of shows whenever I visit different places. With respect to historical locations, the reasons for liking “Sound and Light show” are:
- I get to understand the history of the place better. Even though we hire guides during our visit, my concentration levels are not the same as I also try to take photographs.
- The lights during the night gives a different perspective of the buildings.
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| Kumbhalgarh fort during night |
Coming to our trip, we wanted to spend some time in the evening before the show and hence we were back at the fort by 4PM. Due to the crowd that day (It was Christmas vacation time), two shows were conducted. The first show was from 6:30-7:30 and the second was from 7:30-8:30. As the first show was full, we were given tickets for second show. Price: Rs 100 for Adults and Rs 50 for kids. The show was only in Hindi.
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| Evening view of Jain Temple in Kumbhalgarh fort |
We roamed around the temple area and walked on the walls of the fort enjoying the falling sun. The first show people were already seated when we arrived near Neelakanth temple. There was still some spaces available and we thought “why not go to the first show? Anyway, there is nothing much to do once the sun sets”. To our surprise, no one bothered about the ticket timings!!
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| Neelakanth temple |
The sound and light show mainly concentrated about the history of Mewar and the fort in particular. Special emphasis was given to Rana Kumbha, who led the Hindu resurgence in Mewar area and also constructed the fort and to Maharana Pratap, whose stories of valour we have all heard during our childhood days.
The atmosphere had turned heavy when the story focussed on how Rana Kumbha was killed by his own son for the sake of the throne. As the Rana Kumbha cried when his son strikes him, a shrill noise came from the woman sitting next to me!! A dog had suddenly jumped next to her giving her a sudden shock. Immediately the scene turned from serious to comedy though the woman was in state of shock for some time.
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| Fort and the temple |
The show lasted for about 50 minutes. It was a good show and worth the money and time we spent. The was a nice mix of drama and narration.
After the show, the fort was lit for some time. It was the time for photographers!! I think one should at least visit the show to see the lights. It is an experience by itself.
Labels: fort, Rajasthan, Temples, travel
