Maharana of Mewar Charitable
Foundation (MMCF) diary

Tripoliya
The City Palace Museum, Udaipur

Introduction
The City Palace Museum, Udaipur is administered by the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF), which was set up in 1969 to safeguard and preserve the cultural heritage and the time honoured traditions of the people of Mewar.

The City Palace Museum is a wonderful architectural experience of the built heritage of the region. Rana Udai Singh II the father of Rana Pratap laid the foundation of the City Palace, in A.D. 1559, on the advise of a Hermit Goswami Prem Giriji Maharaj. The museum and its collections are housed within the extensive areas of the historic city palace at Udaipur. The larger city palace complex built tier on tier over four centuries includes within its precincts an array of former royal apartments, historic courtyards, ceremonial durbar halls, delightful enclosed gardens, terraced quarters and sacred temples.

The museum showcases the vast repository of building practices of Mewar, with various sections of the complex clearly depicting the varied influences of the times and the personal building styles of successive custodians ranging from Rana Udai Singh II to the present, 76th custodian of the House of Mewar, Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur, Chairman and Managing Trustee of MMCF.

Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur belief's
Udaipur is today fast emerging as a 'city of the future'. Our endeavour is to make Udaipur a centre of excellence and a seat of learning.

The City Palace Museum, Udaipur has been evolving through time and aims to involve the visitors in a meaningful journey that acquaints them with the authentic history of House of Mewar.

At The City Palace Museum, under the aegis of the MMCF, we have been engaged in similar exercises of conserving and preserving our tangible and intangible cultural resources. It has always been a self-sufficient developing centre within itself and shall continue to grow into an ideal prototype of a living palace complex. More and more visitors to the Museum are keen to understand and absorb the living heritage of Mewar. Every year, over 8,00,000 visitors from India and all over the world visit The City Palace Museum.

We have conceptualized our beliefs in Eternal Mewar to provide the vision for the 21st century. It expresses, embodies and encompasses the core values, principles and the legacy of the House of Mewar.

History and the present context
Tripoliya, 'The Triple Arched' Gate built with white marble procured from Rajnagar, Rajasthan by Rana Sangram Singh II, the 61st Custodian of House of Mewar in A.D. 1711 stands at the northern end of The City Palace Complex. Only the Maharana used to enter through the middle arch while other subjects and visitors used the two side arched entries of Tripoliya. The gate was a symbol of sovereignty and an independent state.

Rana Sangram Singh II A.D. 1710 - 1734

The gate was further adorned by adding the first story of Hawa Mahal during the reign of Maharana Swaroop Singh r. 1842-61, which was restored in 2005 by Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur.

However, no previous Maharana had installed the traditional wooden gates in Tripoliya despite the fact that provision was kept on the sides of each arch for such an installation by Rana Sangram Singh II.

Now, after a long gap of 300 years and 15 Custodians, Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur the present 76th Custodian of House of Mewar and Chairman and Managing Trustee of Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation, Udaipur took the initiative of installing three massive wooden gates at the 'The Triple Arched' gate Tripoliya in 2010 as a way of completing his obligations to his forefathers.