You may think it odd to drive over 200km to look at a load of dilapidated buildings but thats exactly what we've done. We stayed in Manawa and visited Dunlod and Narlagarh. They are all in the Shekawati region notheast of Jaipur. During the 18C the Silk Road passed through here on the way to Bombao and the area controllled the trade in silk, spices and opium into India. A score or more merchant families became very, very wealthy. With the coming of the railways to India in 1902 and the railway to Bombay bypassing the region the trade moved away. The merchant families moved with the trade, mostly to bbbBombay where they own some of India's biggest companies, including Air Indiaor in the case of the Mittel family to Britain. They left behind them their family mansions, built in the 18C and19C altough some only decorated in the 19C and early 20C.
They are called Havelis. They are all built on the same floorplan. An outer courtyard with 2 rooms off, one as a room for entertaining guests (ie business meetings) and one as an office. The reception room would be fanned by a ceiling fan pulled from outside the room. Deaf mutes were preferred for this role as they were unable to pass on trade secrets. Behind would be an inner courtyard where the women were confined in days of purdah with large numbers of rooms for the family and usually 2 kitchens. It would be male servants who would market cook and fetch water.
What makes the Havelis of Shekawati special is that they were decorated all over inside and out with frescoes made with natural pigmnets. As the families have move away usually leaving just a caretaker the frecoes are falling into disreair and are gradually crumbling. Some owners feel a connection to the area and their heritage and are restoring them, although it is difficult to get the natural pigments to restore them (the ultramarine came from Italy) and some can only be cleaned but others see no point in spending money on properties they are never going to visit. As all the Havelis are private property UNESCO money is not available to restore them and much may be lost.
If it were not that the pictures are of Lord Krishna (blue face, flute, usually with lots of women) or Ganesha (orange , elephant face, over doors), you would think you were in quattrocento Florence.
They were also fascinated with trains which only came to India in Edwardian times but were putting them out of business. Clearly again they paineted from descriptions.
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