Saheliyon-ki-Bari or the 'Garden
of the Maids of Honor' of Udaipur was once reserved for the royal ladies
who came here for a stroll. A well planned garden, with extensive lawns
and shady walks situated on the banks of the dainty Fateh Sagar Lake was
constructed in 18th century by Maharana Sangram Singh for forty-eight
young ladies-in-waiting sent to the royal house, as part of the dowry as
a cool summer retreat for them. Located in the northern precincts of the
city, the suburb of Polo Ground, it has now been opened for the public.
Its numerous fountains located strategically in the four scenic pools of
the garden attract as much tourists as the chiseled and sculpted kiosks
and marble elephants. However, they had been added later. A rose garden
with over 100 varieties greets the visitors. The garden's lotus pools and fountains have been so placed that they are at a lower level than the waters of Fateh Sagar Lake and are thus are gravity-fed. The main fountain sports a white marble pavilion in the centre and the contrasting black marble for the four corners of the pond. The 'Savan-Bhado' fountain is on the left of the central square and there is yet another one on the right. The pond on the west features daintily sculptured chhatris (pavilions) of soft black stone, which are surrounded on all sides by more fountains. It is one of the finest examples of Hindu landscape gardening and is a favorite picnic spot of the city. The gardens had been damaged once when the water of the lake flooded them but Maharana Fateh Singh reconstructed in the late nineteenth centuries to lend them their present forms.