Shekawati in Rajasthan,tourist spot in shekawati rajasthan & wild life, national parks and palaces in rajasthan

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Shekhawati

SHEKHAWATI AREA

Shekhawati region got it's name from Rao Shekha. He named his area & clan as Shekhawati. These included small independent fiefdoms, under the umbrella of Jaipur kingdom.

The famous & flourishing Marwaris are mostly from the Shekhawati area. Marwaris are the merchant community of India. These merchants spread from the Shekhawati area into the whole of India. Some examples are the Modi, Birla & Goenka families.

There is a famous tale from this area, when a head of one of the Marwari families, was suggested by a Shakkar Baba (jaggery saint) to travel towards the east, where he will amass huge wealth. It is said that he came back after encountering some bad scenes, but, was convinced by the saint to continue the journey, as there was still good time for him, as per his stars. This Marwari, continued his journey and the family is a very rich & famous family in India.

Interestingly, most of the famous Marwari families made their riches from the east of India - Calcutta area. One reason could also be the East India trading company which the British established in Calcutta, which later was found to be a company setup by the British empire to enter & take over the nation.

These Marwaris, used to send money back home to Shekhawati area, which was used to create, look after temples and also to build huge traditional bungalows, known as Havelis. The name Haveli is used for a residential building in Shekhawati and Marwar regions of Rajasthan, India. Haveli is Persian, meaning "an enclosed place".

These Havelis built by the Marwaris, who were mostly richer than the local rulers, had amazing frescos (wall painting) on their walls, pillars, ceilings, exteriors & room interiors. This is also the Shekhawati area is known as an open air art gallery.

These Frescos have God, life of Lord Rama, Krishna, religion, history, the British period, modern, animals and social issues as subjects. The Havelis had a huge wooden gate and once inside, all the doors to the rooms were beautifully carved with iron fittings. They usually have a courtyard in the middle. The rooms were quite small, compared to today's houses.

Most of the Havelis were built with two levels. Just like the forts & palaces, the entry point was made, keeping in mind the robbers. The huge entry gates had a small door, which was open for individuals. A lot of them can even be seen today, some restored & some in very bad state.

Fresco hunting is the main "thing to do" in the Shekhawati area. You would like to click all you can see. These frescos are spread all over the Shekhawati area. The havelis, where they are found in abundance, some still old and some recently restored to their past glory, are located in various towns, which are not far from each other.

These havelis are located among maze of residential & commercial establishments. You would surely need a guide to locate them, to save time. Some of these havelis have also set up a entry ticket system. Most of the times, your guide will have to locate the caretaker to open the havelis, which is, another reason to hire a local guide.

In the Shekhawati homes you will find handcrafted carved & decorated chests, low legged chairs, tables, stools & cradles. Metal utensils, tie-dye fabrics, murals & frescos, created on paper & cloth.

Main Towns

Baggar : Bagar also has many beautiful havelis with frescos on the walls that belong to Marwari families, many of these families have moved on to bigger cities in India like Calcutta and Bombay. The most famous family to hail from Bagar are the Piramals & Maheshwaris.

Jhunjhunu Jhunjhunu is an ancient town but now a district Headquarter. The Jhunjhunu district shines unique among all the districts of Rajasthan. It has a brilliant trail of brave soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for the defence of their country. It is a district of the business-magnets and advanced farmers. It is one of the prosperous districts of Rajasthan.

Alsisar. is a small town in Jhunjhunu district, Rajasthan. It is in the north-western part of the district. The area surrounding the town is an arid semi desert.

Surajgarh. it is an ancient town and famous for mandi

Mandawa

Mandawa is located around 190 km from Jaipur towards the north. Mandawa is best known for its fort and havelis. One can look down at town from the Mandawa Fort which was built in 1755 by Thakur Nawal Singh, son of Shardul Singh. Now turned into a heritage hotel, it’s painted arched gateway has Lord Krishna and his cows. The spacious rooms have intricate fresco and mirror work with open terrace and even a tower, that has an amazing view of the whole town. Mandawa Fort also displays the royal family's ceremonial costume, beautiful curios and precious arms with handles of jade besides their unique paintings and antiques at in-house museum. Mandawa also has the largest number of painted havelis. The Gulab Rai Wadia Haveli (1875), Binsidhar Newatia Haveli, Lakshminarayan Ladia Haveli, Akhramkha Haveli, Saraf Haveli, Goenka Double Haveli (Vishwanath Goenka Haveli & Tarkeshwar Goenka Haveli), Nandlal Murmuria Haveli and Chokhani Double Haveli are some examples of the region's finest fresco painted havelis. A Shiva Temple with a rock crystal lingam, the Harlalka Well, Thakurji Temple, Tanu Manu Saraf Haveli, Akhramka Haveli and Goenka chattri are other sites worth visiting.

Places to stay: Castle Mandawa. The Desert Resort Jai Niwas Resort Heritage Mandawa Hotel Mandawa Haveli

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