| Bundi lies embraced by hills, the capital of the Hada Rajputs who established their craggy stronghold in these forested hills, but fate and the forces of power created Kotah, a breakaway part of Bundi that went on to become larger and more powerful than its parent state. And yet, the strength and the delicacy of the fort of Bundi has not been recaptured by that in Kotah. Not that it is any less impressive for that. For the kings of Bundi and Kotah were patrons of art and commissioned Chitrashalas or picture rooms where scenes of hunting and paintings of the court cover entire rooms in the particular Bundi and Kotah schools. In these halls, elephants trumpet, horses march to battle, scenes from shikar are delicately recreated, complete with trapped tigers and hunters on horseback. The size of both forts is impressive, and their collection of royal memorabilia recounts centuries past.
|