UDAIPUR

The Maharana of Udaipur claims to belong to the

Oldest ruling family in the world. His palace is called

The City Palace, and in fact contains five palaces,

With a new one added every hundred and fifty years,

Or so. In the middle of his man-made lake float two

More fairy tale islands. Made to order. Last night,

Around ten, the Lake Palace indulged in a firework

Display of such dazzling glamour it might have been

Announcing the arrival of a new messiah. Or Buddha.

Or Krishna. Phosphorescent trails spiralled into water,

Each one a dying swan. In the self same lake, the

Following morning, the poor arrive to wash, brush their

Teeth and beat their clothes clean. A polarised daily

Life unchanged for centuries, each new day a

Portrait of India’s restless carnival of genetic fate.

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