Evolution, Expansion and Transformation
Special Mention - English, Nāgrika Youth Writing Contest 2026
By Muskan Sharma
City: Udaipur, Rajasthan
What would Udaipur’s lakes say if they could speak? In this imagined letter, the lakes reflect on the city’s transformation—from spaces of reverence, community and quiet beauty to increasingly crowded tourist destinations. As boats multiply, traffic grows and plastic litters their waters, they ask Udaipur to see them as more than scenic backdrops: as living ecosystems that sustain the city’s history, culture and identity.
Dear Udaipur,
We, the lakes of Udaipur, are writing this letter, to tell you your evolution and transformation that we have witnessed over the time. We are lying still and letting everybody see themselves in us including you, Venice of the East. We have always reflected. Today we speak. Speak to you, about you.
We came up as a solution to water crises and upon seeing us, Maharana Udai Singh II decided to build and settle a city around us giving you the name, Udaipur. At that time, only Pichola lake witnessed everything. Gradually we all came up and spread across the city while being interconnected to each other. You call us by different names- Pichola-the oldest, Fatehsagar, Udaisagar, Dudh Talai, Badi Lake, Rani Road, Dewali Chor and a few more. The City of Lakes had tourists as well as locals admiring your beauty and strolling by the roads on our side, some bending to look into us, while some looking around to see how far and wide are we. You might not remember those times because you were not what you are today. Being surrounded by Aravallis, we all were not just admired, but worshipped too. Women came down to our ghats to carry on their chores while singing soothing Rajasthani songs which had our mention. They would talk to us like their child. Priests would offer us every festival. The Gangaur festival was a huge one celebrated with us, particularly Pichola where till date exists a ghat named as Gangaur ghat that witnesses the grandeur of Gangaur festival till today.
We would have boats crossing us. They had passengers having the awe on their faces of the beauty they would see. The grand palace cum hotels in middle of Lake Pichola, Jag Mandir and Taj Lake Palace among others, the trail of Aravallis and the shine we reflected penetrated a soothing and serene feeling in minds and hearts of all the passengers on boat. We would feel happy and greeted when few of them would dip their hands in us and smile. It felt like the passengers were shaking hands with us. The boats were very few, mostly rowed by men themselves. It was a happy scenario and we felt happy and content to be the medium for boats to cross, making passengers travel to and fro.
There were times when we would complete dry up. Lake Udaisagar once was completely dry and many muskmelon sellers would come up and so would the people residing nearby to purchase them. That was also the time when Udaisagar witnessed and faced construction. We all could sense it to be a hotel and we were right. Soon a huge structure stood up but was served a stay notice from court. Some different hotelier group took it over. Today stands a 5-star luxurious hotel, Raffles Udaipur, in middle of Udaisagar which is slightly away from us in the outskirts of the city. We do not know exactly how an under construction building with a stay order of court navigated its way to be a beautiful property today hosting many celebrity marriages and film shootings. But it has enhanced tourist footfall to our Udaisagar. We all are always happy to host tourists. Their excitement and energy always make us feel good. Seeing them having camel rides, eat masala corns, watch puppet shows, put on Rajasthani attires to click photos and have chai from the tiny shops, makes up energised.
We miss those days and time. We are not complaining. You are still as beautiful as you were. We have seen you grow and glow. We both have travelled and, in that journey, we adapted and transformed.
Boats still cross us, new hotels and palaces are built around and tourists flow in every month. But we see it all differently now. Everything is same but we feel distant from you. We are your heart, your prime reason to be one of the top tourist destinations and your partner. We watch the tourists glued to their phones clicking our endless pictures and then putting filters on it maybe because our water is not that blue and clear as it used to be. Many faces show a disappointment at not able to capture in their phone what their eyes were witnessing. We would see too many vehicles passing by the road adjacent to us. They honk a lot. We wonder why do they want to speed up overtaking other vehicles as if driving at a normal speed against the cool breeze with sun reflecting upon us giving them the perfect drive environment is not enough to them.
We watch cigarette buds lying on our surface. We hold it as we hold plastic, leftover food and roasted corn. We wish refusal was in our nature but we are nature and we accept. Glass bottles are picked up from us while some get buried under. Glass pinches and hurts right? But we accept.
Our stillness has changed. We have been made to move, move in waves. The boats dominate us with their huge numbers. The photographs of us that people click shows us in parts in between boats, of various types- motor, speed, jet, big, small, house and many more. They are not rowed manually anymore. Their motors are so strong that makes us form waves and have lake currents which restraints us from seeing the passengers clearly anymore. These speed boats just pass like a wind creating loud noise and we rarely get to do handshakes. We wish we could refuse to boats but we always accept because it makes tourists smile as well as serves the livelihood for the boatmen who by the way, have established counters at every turn and point, especially at Fatehsagar to better manage the increased tourist footfall.
We miss our locals. They are seen less, mostly in mornings for runs and walks. They wish to spend every evening with me but the way our adjacent roads and trails are full of eateries, souvenir shops, camel rides, rented two wheelers and congested traffic, the locals are made to compromise and visit us occasionally. They also feel distant and pinched by the reducing admirability of us that photographs, boats and food have taken over. Tourists now sit at our ghats with their feet dipped in. Our worshipping practice takes place in middle of crowd, youngsters mostly, who capture it in their phones. We wish we could make them join hands and keep their prayers and belief strong but we have to accept. We make our cameo in pre-wedding shoots, Pichola particularly as Ambrai and Gangaur ghat take the weight of cameras and video recording set up. We wonder if in those videos we are ever admired or have we become the cliched pre-wedding shoot location.
No, we do not seek sole admirability. We are happy for all the people you host. We are happy to be making their “Udaipur Trip” memorable. We do not want this letter to appear as a grief because we never have been the grief.
We still are admired, we still are your heart, we still are shaking hands, we still are people’s route for the slow drive, we still are the spot for people to sit and make eye contact with us as they think about life, we still are local’s favourite evening spot to stroll around and sit for hours and we still are worshipped.
Udaipur, we ask you to see us a core part of nature and not just mere tourist spot. We are not just your reflection, not just the view, not just the Instagram post, not just places to roam. We are what makes you who you are. We are your water, part of you, your survival and everything. We wish to feel close to that again. We wish to be noticed and treated the way a living thing is treated that keeps alive centuries old history and culture and not just as mere surface to be kept in photographs.
We were here and we still are. We are not complaining. We want you to keep us in mind like how we were. We have seen you grow and be in the list of top most beautiful cities with global recognition. We are happy because it makes you happy. Let us be the family we were and together reflect our history, culture and pride.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely,
Lakes of Udaipur
About the Author:
Muskan Sharma
A post-grad student and researcher hailing from the City of Lakes, Udaipur where she has grown up in a manner that has quietly shaped the way she sees the world. Udaipur, with its lakes, old streets, ghats, temples, stories and distinctive rhythm of life, has been more than just home, it has been a constant source of inspiration.
the pov is so beautiful, the udai in udaipur be it lakes or Maharana ji, all of them would be so proud :).