Tordi Sagar – The Palace Stay

A once grand escape for Royals and Noble families, the Tordi Sagar village has a picturesque and prominent palace which is now used as Accomodation and we got the privilege of staying there. This was a stop on part of our trip, and I didn’t know much about the place but sometimes as you will read these become the best spots.

We arrived in jeeps due to the nearest train station being 40 minutes away and it only located 2 hours from Jaipur (100km). The road to the Hotel was gravel, and dirt tracks at times but mainly a main road along the motorway.

The Palace

Built in the 18th Century by a Nobleman named Thakur Jorawar Singh Ji, for when the King visited, the Palace is on the edge of the village. With turrets, varandahs and balconies on different levels some for aesthetics, and some were actually for the defence in battles.

The finishes of the Palace is a simplistic white with the very recognisable terracotta clay colour for the tiling. Its details are all within the refurbished windows, lamps, doors, floor tiles and eclectic furniture all with warmth, vibrance and colour with the small subtilties to create such a quiet haven away from the busy cities normally found in Rajastan. Like look at it, its just so picturesque, I felt so special when we arrived, like royalty.

Today the descendants of the brave nobleman are spread in a number of villages in the region. The present family is involved in running this historic property and making sure that each visitor to their village leaves enriched with authentic experiences which are available throughout the area.

The food served is authentic indian, with options to even go and learn from the cooks about the flavours and how to cook. We took over the dining room, and also in the evenings the first floor balcony becomes a perfect place to relax with a group of people, dance, sing and talk with the stars above you. The silence is perfect, the ambiance romantic with the coloured lanterns.

We had a game of cricket before heading off after one night here, the lawn to the front of the property was perfect for this while others looked on from the Varandah above.

The Henna

A small gesture was perfect to get all the girls I was with into a frenzy. Henna (Mendhi) art. The tradition goes back centuries, with women and in some occasions the men decorate arms, hands, legs and feet with the black to brown dye. The decorative art has become more intricate, and seeing the women who came do do them for us they were so quick and creative.

The Sunset

The local area has a lot to offer from: Lakes, Dunes, countryside, friendly villages to explore and the famous step wells dating back to 550 AD. They are over grown and but still have water in the bottom after rain. There are farmlands around it with small huts with content farmers just watching the world go by. Fresh vegetables being planted including some of the ones we had in our meals.

Before sunset we drove over to the Damn through these areas and watched the sunset on the bridge with biscuits, chai tea and complete peace.

The village

As soon as i walked out the main gates to the Palace you realise how close and immersed it is in the village. The stable opposite with several beautiful horses, the baby goats heading past, and even a family of pigs and piglets .

We were given a tour by the hotel staff, who were all local and knew so much about each family. The village dates back to the 16^th-century and is one of the fiefdoms of the Khangarot Clan-an. It’s the descendants of the founder, Khangar Singh, who own the fort / hotel which we were staying in. . We were told different streets had different classes of people like India’s traditional way of placing people into catagories. The workers, the teachers, the warriors, the religious men, and the farmers all important in different ways but located in different streets.

I noticed intricately painted murals on some of the walls and we found out due to teh closeness of Indian villages instead of wedding invitations people would paint the family walls so everyone in the village would see them and know they were invited.

Word spread very quickly that there was visitors in the village, everyone was on their door steps relaxing with their family and neighbours, children were curious and would come and giggle with the biggest smiles while we walked through the streets. We even started high fiving and playing clapping games with some of the little girls. One like my hair bobble so I let her put it in her hair which she was giggling even more. So pure, cheeky and happy children, they wouldn’t leave us, all wanting to high five us after that.

We saw the high school and infant schools leaving for the day, the colourful houses and welcoming porches they all had, simple, small, but just what they needed and were content with this

Overall anyone visiting Rajasthan I really recommend trying to detour to this quiet little town, it has the sense of an old world, with everything being so authentic with traditions and aa simple way of life, from the cities surrounding it it really is that small piece of peace and quiet and really made me fall in love with India all over again.