The scope of work of the study is identification & listing of Heritage Sites & Structures; Developing Heritage Information System; Visual Documentation; Preparation of GIS based Heritage Map for the City of Udaipur; Identification & Mapping of Routes for Heritage Walk.
Guide Orientation Programmes
MMCF is organizing a series of Guide Orientation Programmes between the 24th May to 28th June at the MMCF Conference Hall, COMPO, The City Palace, Udaipur. The guide orientation programme is a step towards fulfilling the MMCF's objective to create awareness and educate the guides at The City Palace Museum, Udaipur, about the history of Mewar and other topics relating to environment conservation.
24 Guides attended the day's programme on the 24th May that was presided over by Dr. K. S. Gupta, MMFAA - Maharana Kumbha Awardee 1995, a distinguished historian. He highlighted “History of Mewar from Maharana Amar Singh I (r. 1597 -1620) to Maharana Raj Singh I (r. 1653-1680)”, The post Rana Pratap is a period of Mewar history that is relatively unknown.
Dr. K.S. Gupta addressing the guides
On the 31st May, 48 guides attended a lecture by Mr. Narayan Lal Sharma on “Victory expedition of Maharana Pratap in context of topographical structure of Mewar”.
Mr. Narayan Lal Sharma addressing the guides
Inauguration of the Photography Exhibition 'Long Exposure: The Camera at Udaipur, 1857-1957’
On the 30th May a Photography Exhibition 'Long Exposure: The Camera at Udaipur, 1857-1957' was inaugurated by Mr. Vikas S. Bhale, IAS District Collector and District Magistrate Udaipur in presence of Shriji, Smt. Vijayraj Kumari Mewar of Udaipur and Mr. Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar of Udaipur at the Bhagwat Prakash Photo Gallery, The City Palace Museum, Udaipur.
The presence of the camera in Udaipur predates the arrival of photography in India in 1840. The camera obscura, an optical device and a predecessor to the modern day camera, is known to have been used in Udaipur as early as 1818 by Captain (later Colonel) James Tod, the intrepid British political agent at the Court of Mewar during the reign of Maharana Bhim Singh (r. 1778-1828).
This exhibition provides a photographic overview of the reign of five successive Maharanas of Mewar captured through the lingering gaze of the camera. Setting for the numerous images seen here is the unique topography of Udaipur. Its network of lakes, pleasure pavilions and palaces dotting the landscape has always stimulated the imagination of residents and visitors alike. It is this much- photographed ‘image’ along with Mewar’s singular history as exemplified in this exhibition that adds to visitor’s experience.
In 2008, the photographic materials held at the Pictorial Archives of the Maharanas of Mewar were digitized and archived. The Bhagwat Prakash Photo Gallery was established within the City Palace Museum in March 2009. Today, it is a centre for the dissemination of this rich holding of visual material culture with the collection now being made available for research and to the scholarly community and through exhibitions such as these to the museum-going public and a wider community.
The Second Photo Exhibition at this gallery was held “Tinted by Tradition: Hand Coloured Photographs by Waswo X. Waswo and Mr. Rajesh Soni, on 25th November 2011.
Mr. Vikas S. Bhale inaugurating
the Photography Exhibition
'Long Exposure: The Camera at Udaipur, 1857-1957'
with Mr. Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar of Udaipur