Residency, Oodeypore

Photograph of the Residency at Udaipur in Rajasthan, taken by an unknown photographer, from the Elgin Collection: 'Autumn Tour 1896'. It is situated to the north-west of the city with extensive gardens, including an island garden on the Fateh Sagar lake called Nehru Park. This is a side view of the white neo-classical building from the grounds, with a chhatri in the foreground. The Residency was the official home of the political officer of the British Raj at Udaipur, capital of the Mewar State since the mid-16th century. The first Political Agent (known as Residents after 1881) was appointed to the Mewar State in 1818, when a series of treaties allowed the British to gain control of Rajasthan. At the time of this photograph, the nominal head of state was Maharana Fateh Singh (r.1884-1930), a highly-regarded monarch who enjoyed a long and successful reign. He was ruler of the longest surviving Rajput dynasty, the Sisodias.