Anand Leela

How do you make a water park work with Rajasthan’s climate — without putting the entire park indoors?

The original brief was to develop an indoor water park. But as the idea was tested against the scale of the project, the climate and the economics of building a fully enclosed destination, a different opportunity emerged.

The challenge became creating the comfort people wanted from an indoor park without carrying the cost and complexity of enclosing the entire destination. At the same time, the master plan had to work with the site's contours, incorporate a number of rides the client already owned, create strong visibility from the main road, and appeal to a broad mix of local families and visitors to Udaipur.

The destination also needed to feel culturally connected to its surroundings without becoming a religious park.

Instead of fighting the climate, we designed around it.

Mast developed Anand Leela as a semi-shaded water and adventure destination.

Rather than enclosing everything, shade is concentrated around the places where the guest actually needs it: walking routes, queues, ride transitions, children's areas, food spaces and key gathering zones.

This allows the park to retain the openness and energy of an outdoor destination while creating a more comfortable journey through Rajasthan's heat.

Then I would break the Approach into five short ideas:

Shade the guest, not the entire park

The design focuses protection where people spend time. Covered and semi-covered pathways connect water attractions, tube and raft rides, children's areas, rain dance, pools, food and rest spaces.

Work with what already exists

The client already had a collection of rides. Rather than designing the park independently and fitting those rides in later, Mast evaluated which attractions still made sense, how they should be combined and where each could perform best within the overall experience.

Use the land as part of the attraction

The site's contours influence ride placement, circulation and sightlines. The master plan uses level changes and the relationship with the main road to create moments where the park itself becomes visible and exciting before a visitor even enters.

The formal proposal similarly includes site analysis, topographical considerations, guest flow, zonal allocation, ride placement, queue management and crowd dispersal.

Build cultural familiarity without making it religious

Udaipur sits within a strong cultural and spiritual visitor environment. The idea therefore needed to feel familiar to those audiences while remaining welcoming to everyone.

The name Anand Leela became the bridge.

It subtly evokes the idea of joy and leela without turning the destination into a literal religious narrative.

Krishna is never the central visual character. Instead, references can appear through peacock forms, flute-inspired details, colour, pattern and other recognisable motifs woven lightly through the experience.

Design one journey, not a collection of rides

Water attractions, adventure experiences, food, rest, circulation and thematic moments are planned as one guest journey.

The design work also considers emotional high points, transitions between zones, wayfinding and the integration of retail and F&B into the experience.

From an indoor water park brief to a destination designed for its place.

Anand Leela now has a defined thematic identity and a master-planned direction for a semi-shaded water and adventure destination.

The plan brings together existing and proposed attractions, shaded guest movement, ride placement, site contours, food and rest areas, operational requirements and a culturally sensitive visual language under one connected experience.

The project has progressed through theming and master planning, creating the framework from which detailed design and future implementation can continue.

I would deliberately not write visitor, revenue or operating-performance claims yet, because this is still a development-stage project.