‘Playful Hemlines’ - Ladies clothing stall slogan

Here in Udaipur, The city’s major buildings are being restored, new lime wash is applied over renovated marble and concrete and polished to make the walls gleam. All done by hand. The manual labour here continues to be intensive. Modernity is happening slowly, Water and waste pipes are beginning to be buried underground, all manually done. Soon the electricity cables will be put underground too. There are big plans for this city. Huge expensive hotels are being built some distance from the centre, but behind the scenes there is so much rubbish and discarded materials with no infrastructure or inclination to clean it up. Nothing ever looks finished.

Wandering through the narrow back streets of the old town, houses have deteriorated and simply fallen down and subsequently become refuse areas.

It is here you will find small single businesses like tailors, steel pots, jewellery, milk, flour and food all being hand made with the most basic of tools and little or no power. They work late into the night - highlighting another issue that really needs changing. The hours that people work is so intensive and wholly unacceptable. Leaving little or no time for rest, relaxation and family time. There is very little evidence of leisure in these towns, except in the Palace.

Since being in India, I have been disappointed by a number of issues in Rajasthan. The one that has really affected me is the issue of Women - how they are treated and the subservient role they have. Having myself been talked through or blatantly ignored on may occasions highlighted the situation for me.

Here in Udaipur, for the first time in Rajasthan, I was really pleased to see a greater female presence. Hardly any cover their faces, many run their own businesses and comfortable being visible. Most were also happy to be photographed. Together with Delhi, these are the only places where I have easily interacted with the women.