Shekawati is a collection of small towns and villages stuck in time. Colourful wall frescoes grace the walls of the 2-3 century old Havelis. It is locally said that the term 'Haveli' comes from 'hawa' meaning wind since they are made in a way that there is good cross ventilation. It is most likely derived from Arabic word 'Hawali', meaning partition, or private space.
The mansions built in Indo-Mughal style was partitioned into different sections. There is a main gate outer gate through which one enters the outer courtyard. This was mostly for men and visitors. There might be a separate attached room from private business meetings. Then there is the second door that leads to the inner sanctum, where the women of the family lived.
The intricately sculpted doors were made of teak wood. I was told that it was one of the three most expensive kinds of wood found in India, other two being sandalwood and Bollywood. Unfortunately, most of the houses are empty or occupied by the caretakers family. The owners have moved to other cities like Kolkata for better fortune decades ago.
This place is part of Matsya Kingdom where the aboriginal Meena tribes (Meen meand fish), and is related to Matsya Avatar of Vishnu. The name Shekhawati is derived from its first independent ruler Rao Shekha. This region was once part of the flourishing old silk route. Trading made the Marwari community rich, and they settled down in this arid land. They brought good painters from bigger cities like Jaipur to paint their house with their lifestyle, culture, stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata, and a bit of erotica.
Mandawa is the heart of Shekawati, around 260kms from Delhi. The rich havelis here are surrounded by small houses that are glued with one another in a way that you can go from one end of the town to the other by jumping from one terrace to another. The romantic set up have brought Bollywood here... including PK and Bajrangi Bhaijan.
It is recommended to take a guide (300INR) since most of the havelis have their main door closed and there is no way to know if you should just open the door and step into someone's private property.
Some of the key havelis are:
1. Murmuria haveli
2. Shet Dayaram Goenka haveli
3. Golden haveli
4 Jhunjhunwala haveli
5 Chowkhan double haveli
1. Murmuria haveli
2. Shet Dayaram Goenka haveli
3. Golden haveli
4 Jhunjhunwala haveli
5 Chowkhan double haveli
You will get to see a lot of antique items in the houses.
Most of them charge you to enter now. The money goes into maintenance and renovation. Don't miss the Ramnath A Poddar museum in Nawalgarh, around 30 km from Mandawa where you come as a tourist and go as a friend.
