When beginning on our tour of Rajasthan, we knew very little of the Shekhawati area other than that it is an upcoming tourist destination and is referred to as the nation's only 'open air gallery'-- a tribute to the frescoed havelis discovered there. In fact, even when we boarded a dirty Mandawa-bound state bus from the outskirts of Bikaner, we didn't understand much therefore our expectations weren't much either. However, by the end of our go to, we fell for Shekhawati's rustic appeal along with its elegantly painted walls-- a distinct Rajasthani experience!
Shekhawati was established by the Shekhawati Rajputs who ruled over their little kingdom right till the day of self-reliance. The area was divided into numerous parts called Thikanas, each which was ruled by a Rajput Rao. Each ruler went about setting up a fort and palaces within his kingdom, which eventually led to a cluster of incredible structures concentrated in a relatively smaller sized part of the state. The settlement of abundant merchants and traders furthermore guaranteed the structure of splendid living quarters with richly painted interiors and exteriors in conventional Rajasthani colors and design. And today, in spite of little to no govt aid, these falling apart homes with their splendid murals are the toast of the region and are accountable for the increasing wide variety of visitors who drop in every year.
Practically every village in the area takes pride in wonderfully painted havelis and architecture so it becomes rather difficult for a casual tourist to select where to go or what to see. We asked numerous individuals (a mix of locals, hotel staff and on-line travel consultants) and got different responses on what was 'best' in the location. In the end, we randomly chose a few villages for check out and left the rest for another time.
The bus from Bikaner dropped us off in the village of Mandawa where we remained for 2 nights. It is the most tourist-friendly town of the area and has numerous hotels, including the beautiful Castle Mandawa. We remained at the more affordable Heritage Mandawa, which is a restored haveli with paintings covering every inch of its exterior and interior walls. It was our very first introduction to Shekhawati paintings and we liked it. So we invested the remainder of the day taking pleasure in the haveli and ventured out just the next morning in a cab rented for the day.
Our tour consisted of stops at the towns or towns of Bissau, Mahansar, Ramgarh and Fatehpur. When we were first dropped off at Bissau, we had no idea what to expect or do. We ventured out into the town streets feeling a little awkward about looking at individuals's gorgeous personal homes. However the fabulously painted buildings captivated us totally and we soon lost all inhibitions and looked at them helplessly. It was unfortunate to see that much of them were lying vacant and uncared for. Some were inhabited and we even got welcomed into among them for a closer look. The family let us into one of the bed rooms and allowed us to take pictures at will-- it was a charming chance to view Rajasthani life up-close in a standard, 200yr old house. Later we visited the town's ignored fort, which didn't have much to use in terms of architecture or paintings however was enforcing and worth a ramble. The caretaker of the fort, who likewise lived on the premises with his family, neglected us in the beginning and after that later attempted to sell us old glass tumblers as antiques-- it was both amusing and annoying.
Mahansar turned out to be a much smaller sized village with beautiful cenotaphs, havelis and a sprawling fort, parts of which have been converted into heritage hotels by the descendants of the judgment Thakurs. We loved the fort and had an incredible conversation with Kanwar Bhagwati Singh who lives in and manages the heritage hotel-- Mahansar Fort. He let us search through the fort-haveli and offered us some rejuvenating tea with treats. We loved the location and its people a lot that we wished we were staying there instead of Mandawa.
Ramgarh has more cenotaphs than the other towns we visited however unfortunately none were being preserved by the federal government. The grounds of a few of the loveliest cenotaphs, though locked, were being used by the residents as dumping grounds for old, unwanted furniture and parts. Our driver managed to ask around and get the secrets for one of the cenotaphs from a nearby store owner. We were then able to go up to its roof and sit under the incredible Chhatris, which had lovely paintings. These were not as comprehensive or complex as the ones on the walls of the havelis, however they were simply as lovely.
Our final stop of the day was in the town of Fatehpur, where the chauffeur personally accompanied us around. He led us directly to the town's most famous tourist attraction-- the Deora Haveli, which had been purchased and brought back by a French artist, Nadine Le Prince. To state that this was the absolute emphasize of our Shekhawati trip would still be an understatement! This location is amazingly gorgeous! The French woman has fastidiously brought back and remodelled the haveli, mixing in her own paintings to the existing ones to offer the place an incredible, cohesive look. She has actually added period furnishings and design to provide visitors a peek of Shekhawati style of life. For Rs.100 per head as entry fee, a young French student offered us a detailed tour of the haveli, discussing using each room and its home furnishings. The haveli has two inner courtyards and these were our preferred parts. She later on took us to two art galleries at the back of the home, where horse stables as soon as stood, and let us browse through Nadine's collection in leisure. One of the galleries had paintings from artists around the country and many of them were up for sale. I hope Ms. Nadine at some point chooses to run a coffee store within the haveli facilities-- it would provide visitors a possibility to lounge around for some more time and soak in the incredible atmosphere ...
As we strolled around Fatehpur, we glimpsed lots of amazing houses but none of them were as perfectly preserved as the one used up by Nadine. The streets of the village, though a little dirty, had a great rural appeal, which was improved by the presence of stunning peacocks who strutted around with no fear. We stumbled upon a glass-bangle maker whose stall looked splendidly vibrant. He made lovely bracelets out of molten glass right in front of our really eyes-- we were thrilled! Needless to state I couldn't stroll away without purchasing a couple of them from him ¦.
By the time we went back to Mandawa that evening we were rather enamored by the region and wanted to explore more of it. We couldn't get the Mahansar Fort-palace and its folks from our head, so we called them and set up a 2-night remain at their place just to experience rural Shekhawati far from Mandawa's commercial chaos. Then the following day, we had a look at of Heritage Mandawa and invested the early morning walking town, exploring its havelis and going shopping a bit.
The highlight of Mandawa has actually got to be its amazing fort-castle, which is now an elegant heritage hotel called Castle Mandawa. For Rs.300 per head we got to explore its grounds in leisure, which we absolutely enjoyed. The fort-palace is magnificently maintained with several inner courtyards and halls, all with miniature paintings covering every inch of the surface. We were informed that a current Hindi film, was shot on this place and I could just envision why! Later on we feasted on a lunch of sandwiches and cooled beer on the deck of their coffee shop and liked every minute of our time there. The Rs.600 charged as entry cost was changed towards the cost of our lunch, which was good.
Later on, we visited a few of Mandawa's popular havelis: Ladia Haveli, Goenka Haveli and Chokhani Double Haveli. These were all absolutely beautiful with lovely painted frescos but the one that really thrilled us was the Double Haveli, which was essentially two Havelis linked by a typical roof-top balcony within a large compound. Although the gatekeepers charged us an entry cost of Rs.50, the place didn't look like it was getting any unique attention from them or the owners. One of the gatekeepers walked us through among the havelis as well as took us to the roof-top from where we had a bird's eye view of Mandawa. By the time we exited the substance and strolled back to our hotel, we understood that we had had enough of these painted murals and knew that we had actually made the ideal choice by selecting only a couple of towns for visiting; anything more would have been an over-dose!
Considering that Mandawa is one of the more popular night-stay options in the Shekhawati area, its market location has several handicrafts and home furnishings stores dedicated to tourists. We enjoyed searching thru all these and speaking with the shopkeeper, who were mostly a lot of friendly, resourceful folks, prepared for a couple of minutes of chat. We purchased a number of pairs of Jodhpuri Joothis (shoes) for our nieces from a young lad who declared to have worked in Bombay too. Later we purchased a charming bedspread with matching pillow covers from a magnificent Marwari who had operated in Bombay and Gujarat and seemed to be rather worldly-wise. We chatted with him for almost an hour over cups of tea and delighted in the shopping experience completely!
That afternoon we took a cab to Mahansar Fort and after that spent the following 2 days taking in rural Rajasthan from within the walls of the fort-palace. It was the best way to end up our Shekhawati trip.
In general, we were quite pleasantly amazed by how distinct the Shekhawati area turned out to be from the rest of Rajasthan. It's just now that we are beginning to comprehend why this state is among the most popular destinations of tourists from worldwide-- it has so much varied stuff to provide! We are absolutely hooked for life and know that we will be back for many years to check out and experience more of it.
For more information on Rajasthan tours from Delhi India contact Swan Tours one of the leading travel agents in Delhi, India.
