The painted towns of Shekhawati-3: Mandawa

Ilay Cooper’s book on Shekhawati set me off on an extraordinary trip to an extraordinary place in January this year. I had to wait for nearly 6 months before I felt ready to write about it — so overwhelming were my thoughts and emotions. This post on Mandawa is the fourth of 8 posts in the series on “The Painted Towns of Shekhawati”. If you haven’t read the introduction to Shekhawati’s history (and the series), I recommend that you do so now, before proceeding further. If you have already done so, then get ready to visit Mandawa. 🙂

Prior to my Shekhawati trip, Mandawa popped up everywhere that I looked around on the Internet. Whether it was looking for hotels to stay or making a list of havelis to see, or probable itineraries, or traveller tips and suggestions, or even blog posts — Mandawa was the Shekhawati town that featured prominently.

But historical records say that Mandawa wasn’t always like this. It used to be a sleepy, nondescript little village till it came under the rule of Nawal Singh, who inherited it. Yes, the same Nawal Singh who founded Nawalgarh. He laid the foundation for a fort in Mandawa in 1756 and also extended invitations to traders to settle down there. His grandsons, Padam Singh and Gyan Singh, moved to Mandawa at the end of the 18th century and continued with the work that Nawal Singh had started.

The 19th century saw Mandawa growing in size, economy and importance. Some of the prominent trader families in Mandawa were the Dhandhanias, Harlalkas, Ladias, Chokhanis, Sonthalias, Sarafs and the Goenkas. Mandawa became so prosperous that in 1828, the joint forces of Amer (Jaipur) and Sikar besieged it. However, the combined forces of Mandawa and Nawalgarh managed to hold out and the threat was overcome.

When I arrived at Mandawa from Dundlod at around 3.30 in the afternoon, it was to the fort that I headed towards.

The oldest residential buildings in the Fort date back to the early 1800s and very little original paintings survive on the exterior walls. One look around the various buildings in the Fort and its is evident that the buildings have been built over a period of time and in various styles as well. From traditional Rajput-style architecture with Mughal influences to colonial style arches and columns — they are all there.

The Fort property is divided between two owners — one side is a hotel and the other is locked up with a desolate air about it. Since I’m not a resident of the hotel, I cannot go in and see the frescoes inside, and have to be content with what is visible on the outside, like the ones on the entrance arch.

As I’m walking around the premises of the Fort and photographing its various features, a man comes up to me and introduces himself as the watchman-cum-caretaker of the locked portion of the Fort. He asks if I’d like to see something really spectacular — a chamber embellished with fine paintings and glass and mirror work.

After some initial hesitation, I say yes and follow him inside through winding staircases and past locked and empty rooms before being finally led to the room in question.

In the light streaming in though red and green coloured window panes, I can see finely detailed paintings on all the walls, pillars, niches and ceiling of the room. These are reflected multiple times in the mirrors placed strategically throughout the room. Some of the mirrors have gotten tarnished with age, but I can still see my reflection in some. Some of the paintings are in a bad shape, but some still have the details clearly visible like the Krishna Leela, Ramayana, and hidden in a niche behind a pillar a depiction of Balabhadra, Subhadra and Jagannatha. Looking back at the photos today, I wish there had been light to see the details in the room, and that my skills are low-light photography were better !

I also got a chance to climb up to the terrace of the haveli from where I saw the rather flat and monotonous landscape of Mandawa. Some large painted havelis could be seen and after making a general note of the direction they were in left to explore Mandawa town.

Wandering in Mandawa turned out to be quite a frustrating experience initially. Most of the havelis were shut or the watchman/caretaker missing from his post. This meant that, apart from the one in the Fort, I could not enter a single haveli in Mandawa.

Presenting a set of 42 photographs from the painted havelis of Mandawa. They cover religious themes, floral designs and verses. Clicking on any of the captioned photographs will start a slide show. Though you can start the slide show from any photograph, I recommend that you begin with the first, and once you have finished seeing the photos, don’t forget to come back to read the rest of the post.

View of the two portions of the residential buildings inside the Mandawa Fort. On the left is the freshly painted and well maintained hotel portion, while on the right is the locked up portion

A colonial inspired section of a building in the Mandawa Fort

A closer look at the ‘hotel’ portion of the Mandawa Fort

Stained glass windows, old and naturally distressed wooden doors and faded paintings … all in one frame at the Mandawa Fort

On the ceiling of a chamber in the ‘uninhabited’ portion a haveli at Mandawa Fort

Balabhadra, Subhadra and Jagannatha smiling cheekily away, I felt, at me. This was at the painted chamber in the haveli from the locked up section

The full facade of a painted haveli somewhere in Mandawa. The colours have faded or the paintings have been obliterated, but it is still a striking facade.

A pretty facade. The faded green of the window seems to be echoing the faded paintings on the facade. Pinks and greens have never looked so beautiful together !

An almost empty street in Mandawa at dusk

A typical well of the region. The base of the domes have barely discernible delicate paintings done on them

An entrance archway with mughal style floral motifs painted on it

The frescoes on the upper part are more or less intact. The frescoes on the lower portion have been plastered over or whitewashed

Another beautiful entrance archway with an overhanging balcony this time.

One more beautiful entrance archway of a locked house. Though the fresco is covered with dust and has also faded with time, the fine floral design is still visible

Detail of the floral design on the archway

Pastel colours dominate in Mandawa and quite a few havelis have pastel- coloured facades and paintings

A pastel-coloured facade with a 3D effect or Trompe-l’œil effect. But the most interesting thing on this facade was the lettering just under the eaves.

“Shri Ram” and “Shri” are written in the top most panel of this building’s facade. This is the first time I came across writing as a design and not as a signature in a fresco

Faded frescoes and one that has been covered over with fresh plaster

These faded and pastel coloured frescoes are of the Dashavatar

This place dispenses ayurvedic medicines free of cost. It was closed when I walked past this place and was struck by its old world charm and the beautiful frescoes over the entrance

The only fresco surviving on thie wall of this abandoned haveli was this rather quirky ‘vehicle’

From the Ramayana: Hanuman, locally known as Balaji, carrying the hill with the life-saving Sanjeevani medicinal plant

Some entrances have delicate carved arches instead of frescoes. Here’s one such entrance.

A close-up of the previous one, which reveals a Ganesha in the middle arch

Toot-toot ! Make way for the trains. Trains were my favourite theme among the frescoes and I never tired or seeing them.

Two trains approach a station from opposite direction

A closer view of the train in the right

An even closer view also brings the frescoes painted above the train into focus. but just barely

I also never got tired of these pastel hued frescoes in Mandawa

The Sonthalia Gate, which was one of the original gates of Mandawa’s fortifications. This particular gate was re-built in 1930.

Krishna being nuzzled by two cows on either site above the Sonthalia Gate. Also note the delicate jaali work at the windows

I only noticed the architecture and the cast iron arches the first time I saw this building. When I went past it the second time I noticed other details as well. See the next picture for the details

Delicately painted flowers and some phrases from a poem

One more shot of this beautiful building. It called for more investigation…

…which led me to this view — three figures on top and some verses written in the panels below

The figures were silhouetted against the setting sun and initially it was difficult to make out what/who they were. A closer look revealed (L to R) Buddha, Krishna and Radha, and balaji (Hanuman)

An even closer look. This was the only time I saw a depiction of the Buddha in Shekhawati

Verses from the poet-saint Tulsidas’ compositions. The top line has “Hare Ram Hare Ram Hare Ram Hare Hare, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Hare Hare” running in a loop around the house

This set has verses from Kabir’s compositions

Two kinds of art in this frame. In the foreground are these colourful plastic crates and in the background, barely visible, are the frescoes

More art and some rubbish 😦

I visited Mandawa twice, the second time in the hope of seeing the haveli interiors but I wasn’t lucky enough. Plus, it was raining the second time around and I didn’t relish walking around in the cold and navigating wet roads. After the initial frustration of not being able to see the haveli interiors, I started appreciating the unique design elements in Mandawa. The pastel colours, the trompe l’oeil effect of some of the frescoes, and the verses and chants painted on the building facades, which I didn’t see anywhere else in Shekhawati. The architecture too appeared more contemporary (relatively speaking that is !).

I didn’t find Mandawa to be a very friendly place. Yes, it is used to tourists and being a tourist hub for the region. But I don’t think Mandawa really likes them, especially Indian tourists. When I arrived at the Fort, I first had to get through a group of men all clamouring for my attention and offering to guide me through the various havelis in Mandawa. I might have taken up the services of one of them, but once they figured out that I was not an NRI, but an Indian they just lost interest and walked away. Every single one of them !

It makes me wonder why. Don’t Indians like to pay or are pay poorly or don’t appreciate the guides or the havelis? Or were the guides just men who were hanging around the Fort hoping to make some money from an unsuspecting tourist (NRI or foreign) and thought an Indian would know better?

Whatever the reason, I have decided to visit Mandawa again and attempt another try at seeing the interiors of the havelis after seeing this blog post. 🙂

Notes:

1. Mandawa is just 30 km from Nawalgarh, my base in Shekhawati, and about an hour’s drive from there.
2. Many of the havelis are locked up and empty. Some have just been abandoned, while some have caretakers who will allow you to see them for a small fee. For your own safety, I would advise extreme caution in deciding to enter such havelis.
3. While most caretakers/watchmen of the havelis will ask for a token amount upfront before you see the haveli, some may not. In such cases, I would suggest that you pay them something when you leave.

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The Painted Towns of Shekhawati Series: Introduction | Nawalgarh | Dundlod | Mandawa | Lakshmangarh | Fatehpur | Bissau | Mahensar

Other Shekhawati-related posts: The Shekhawati trip planner | The painter of murals | Messages on the wall: The graffiti of Nawalgarh | The stepwell at Lohargal I The garbage well |