Nearly 452 years ago Maharana Udai Singh founded the city of lakes – Udaipur, and made it capital of Kingdom of Mewar. Time passed, Mewar has seen its empire flourishing, succeeding and trampling every milestone.

Every single book, website or video describing Udaipur narrates its glorious past which naturally attracts the large business of tourism and gives us a reason to be proud of Udaipur, a city we are not-so-thankful to.

You can bash me for my pinching words, if I lie.

Our lakes spread with jalkumbhi and palaces turned into hotels which are actually constructed by our great Maharanas, what else are we proud of?

Except those (now commercially) plowed and infected Aravali Hills, which are other natural habitats around us? When we cannot protect even these three manmade and natural rewards, how can we say we are thankful to our city?

Apart from sitting on the paal or bansi of Lake fatehsagar, joking, luring and lurking on girls what good we’ve done as an Udaipurite or for Udaipur?

I am not an uncle typo (though I am growing old) who has pledged to bore you nor I have interest to bang my head on stones, so all those brick-heads, please buzz off!

Those who still dare to read….let me continue.

We celebrate today as a day when Udaipur was founded by Maharana Udai Singh, we celebrate this day as Udaipur Sthapana Diwas, for sure half of us don’t know when Udaipur was founded and by whom? Still we walk looking at the sky and our feet keep an inch distance from ground.

Tell me why we are so proud of being an Udaipurite?

May be because this is the only city in India where anyone can do anything, anywhere and anytime.

Dig a newly constructed road to buckle up huge ‘toran dwar’ for procession or welcoming a ‘baraat’,

Paste your tuition classes’ posters on any wall you wish to, who dares to stop?

Pee on your neighbor’s door and scare him of your friend who is constable in police.

Who will stand on the queue when the man sitting in a ticket window is ‘jijaji of your bhabhi’s younger sister’s husband’?

Stand your bike wherever it stops and if somebody dares to look into your eyes then slap him tight, you are a boss of your city.

Spit paan on road, peep into someone’s account while waiting for your chance to use ATM, over take your latest modified Hayabusa-lookalike bike from top-bottom-right-left, blow horn as much as you can, throw dirty water, garbage and everything else from your house on road.

I hope there are several reasons to be proud of being an Udaipurite.

If something is still left then here are our two biggest administrative bodies, one is Municipal Council of Udaipur and second is Urban Improvement Trust (UIT).

Municpal Council should get an award for their superb administration where every rule is applicable temporarily, be it of polythene use, encroachment, dustbins on public places, parking, illegal constructions, valid license of hotel and tourism related professional, or beautifying old aged howling gardens. Though everyday new orders will pass through press-notes and will remain to those press note itself.

UIT who often comes up with innovative ideas to develop the city cannot even upload more than three photos on their official website gallery.

Every year in months of MAY-JUNE local media and NGOs shout till their throat get sore- ‘clean lakes’ , ‘jalkumbhi hatao’ , ‘jheel bachao’ etc but UIT seems lost or either confused in their ‘patta cutting work’ so who cares about lakes, people, city, development, or improvement?

Some corrupt Parshads and Patwaris are running this city, keeping everything up-to-date and clear.

Unfortunately, those who really sacrificed their whole life for development of Udaipur without any selfish motives are tired and finally declared their retirement, now no one is left to think, what this yearly “Sthapna Diwas” is meant for?

Middle-class parents are busy studying with their own children’s curriculum after returning back from a hardcore 8 hours job, teenagers are running towards Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Gurgaon and Bangalore and swearing not to come back again saying we don’t have KFC, Baskin- Robbin’s, Infosys, Low jeans, broad minds, night life and friendly people. Except, when fateh sagar overflows.

Blame it first on local people and then on system or vice versa, administration is sleeping because we the people, least care of what is happening is wrong or right?

If you ask me, I’ll blame directly the youth of Udaipur because they are the most educated but unconcerned mass of our city who have nothing except big dreams of fast money and beautiful lady in their minds.

To change the world, we should change our home first. Udaipur is no doubt beautiful but it needs your safe hands around it. So save Udaipur first before you think of anything else.