The Secret of the Grandeur of Shekhawati Havelis – X

In the tenth and concluding part, Dr. Parneet and Dr. Kiran, tell us about the grandeur of the havelis in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan. These showcase beautiful paintings. An exclusive for Different Truths. 

Havelis of the Shekhawati region surpass other marvellous specimens of haveli architecture in the beauty of their paintings. Shekhawati is also called an open art gallery because of these paintings.  Shekhawati region falls into three districts of the state namely Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu. The spectacular havelis in Mandawa in Shekhawati like Bansidhar Newatia haveli, Mumuria haveli, Mohan Lal Saraf Haveli and Lakshminarayan Ladiya Haveli are decorated with enchanting frescoes. 

The colourful paintings on the walls, ceiling and door frames include the paintings of kings, queens, scenes of royal weddings, and scenes from Hindu mythology. Lord Krishna in different gestures, animals, and birds especially elephants and peacocks.  In the Pirmal Haveli at Baggar (Jhunjhunu), there is an amazing mural of Surya devta (Sun God) with his chariot driven by seven horses on the ceiling of the Baithak (drawing room).

Char Chowk Haveli

The spacious Shekhawati havelis were built as status statements of their owners, the wealthy merchants.  These havelis   consist of two courtyards; the outer courtyard for men whereas the inner courtyard is for women. Some of them have even more than two courtyards e.g., there is a haveli with four courtyards at Laxmangarh in Sikar which is known as Char Chowk Haveli. This haveli was built by Muralidhar Ganeriwala, in 1840.

Seth Arjun Das Goenka Haveli

Seth Arjun Das Goenka Haveli is located at Dundlod, in Jhunjhunu. It was built in 1875, and is divided into two courtyards.

These majestically designed and decorated havelis tell the stories of the grandeur of the merchant class and their love for art and culture.  Many of these amazing havelis have been turned into luxurious hotels like Alsisar Haveli, Mandawa Haveli, etc. There are several other well-known havelis like Purohit ji ki haveli (Jaipur), Pushya Haveli (Jodhpur), Bachchaawaton Ki Haveli, (Bikaner) and Sunhari Kothi Haveli (Tonk), etc.  

Concluded

Visuals sourced by the authors

Co-author:

Dr. Kiran Deep is Associate Professor in English at Sri Ganganagar (Rajasthan). Her English translation of eminent Punjabi poet Surjit Patar’s poems has been published by Sahitya Akademi. Her publications include the research book, “Mapping the Creative Terrain: Revisiting George Eliot and Thomas Hardy”, along with several articles in literary journals of national and international repute.