The painted towns of Shekhawati-4: Laxmangarh

Posted on by sudhagee

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, though, before I felt ready to write about it — so overwhelming were my thoughts and emotions. This post on Laxmangarh is the fifth 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 dive straight into the post. 🙂

When I arrived at Laxmangarh on that bitterly cold January morning, it had just stopped raining and the sun was playing hide-and-seek with the clouds. Thankful that the rains would not play spoilsport, I headed straight for the Fort, which is built on a hillock overlooking the town.

Laxmangarh Fort dates back to the early 1800s when the town was founded by Laxman Singh, the Raja of Sikar, to take advantage of the rise in caravan trade at that time. He built the Fort and a walled fortification with nine gates to protect the town. Today, only the Fort remains.

Laxmangarh, Painted Towns of Shekhawati, Fresco, Art Gallery, Painting, Heritage, Travel, Rajasthan
The entrance to the Lakshmangarh Fort and the sign warning people not to enter it.

To my surprise, I found that the Fort was now private property having been bought by a trader in Delhi, who had, in turn, leased it to a telecommunications company to construct cell towers. There is a temple inside the Fort and visitors are allowed only till that point in the Fort. I tried to look inside the door leading up to the top of the Fort and almost got told off by the priest of the temple for daring to do so !

Disappointed with not being able to see a Fort the second time around in Shekhawati, I  set off to explore the town instead.

Laxmangarh is a planned town and is laid out in a grid with its roads and streets either parallel or perpendicular to each other. It was quite a contrast to the meandering layouts I had navigated in the various towns in Shekhawati. The grid system took a little while to get used to and I went around in circles, or I should say squares and rectangles, before I figured this out. 😛

Laxmangarh never fully took off the way Laxman Singh envisaged it to be as it came under attack quite often. But the real threat to the prosperity of the town came, not from these attacks, but from the town’s rulers who levied harsh taxes on trade. By the middle of the 19th century, trade had practically come to a standstill in Laxmangarh. The traders, including the town’s leading family, the Ganeriwalas, had migrated to places like Calcutta and Hyderabad. The Laxmangarh traders did return, but not to do business — they returned only to build havelis and have them painted all over with frescoes.

With a couple of exceptions, the havelis in Laxmangarh are not very large and are dominated with ochre-coloured facades. How I wished the sun would come out in full force, for I was pretty sure that the ochre would have a taken on golden hue then.

Mandawa, Painted Towns of Shekhawati, Fresco, Art Gallery, Painting, Heritage, Travel, Rajasthan
Some of the ochre havelis of Lakshmangarh

Mandawa, Painted Towns of Shekhawati, Fresco, Art Gallery, Painting, Heritage, Travel, Rajasthan

Though I saw quite a few painted havelis in Laxmangarh, I was able to see the interiors of only one — the Ganeriwala Char Chowk Haveli, one of the largest havelis I came across in Shekhawati.

This haveli is actually two havelis with a common facade. One half of the haveli is inhabited and the other is empty and in a derelict state. There are few frescoes remaining on the external walls of this haveli and these appear to have survived only because they are too high up for any kind of repair or whitewash.

I took permission to enter the outer courtyard of the inhabited section and was surprised to find a complete absence of frescoes on the walls. Instead, all the pillars and archways were painted with delicate floral designs and in muted shades. Though most of the colours are faded now, the designs are still visible and breathtakingly beautiful.

I spent a lovely morning walking the streets of Laxmangarh seeking out the painted havelis (and in the process came across some art deco structures as well). Most of the havelis still stand, but have been abandoned and have a forlorn look about them. As for the frescoes, they are there too, but just. The themes of the frescoes were varied — mythological, portraits, and transport. There were some cityscapes too, but with a distinctly European character making me wonder if the traders had travelled there and came back with pictures to show the artists to replicate on the walls.

Presenting a set of 40 captioned photographs from the painted havelis of Lakshmangarh. Though clicking on any of the photographs will start a slide show, I recommend that you begin with the first photograph. Once you have finished seeing the photos, don’t forget to come back to read the rest of the post.

The narrow entrance to the Fort which leads to a Balaji (Hanuman) temple after a short climb.
Art Deco symbols on a building in Lakshmangarh, probably built in the 1940s or 1950s.
One of the straight streets at Lakshmangarh
The grand facade of the Ganeriwala Chaar Chowk Haveli. This is actually two separate havelis united by a common facade. Owned by the families / descendents of two Ganeriwala brothers, the haveli on the left is inhabited, while the one on the right is in terrible shape.
Floral and geometric patterns painted on the entrance archway to the Ganeriwala Char Chowk Haveli
Faded frescoes and missing bricks from the facade of the Ganeriwala Char Chowk Haveli
The entrance to the inhabited part of the Ganeriwala Char Chowk Haveli
Faded paint can be seen on the carved arches and pillars of this facade on both the upper and lower levels.
A set of arches with delicate floral designs painted on them at the Ganeriwala Char Chowk Haveli
Signs of life — a water pipe, a wash basin and two large tanks for storing water Ganeriwala Char Chowk Haveli
More signs of life. A look past the outer courtyard of the Ganeriwala Char Chowk Haveli into the inhabited part of the mansion
The state of the uninhabited and locked portion of the Ganeriwala Char Chowk Haveli
Another view of the uninhabited portion of the Ganeriwala Char Chowk Haveli. This picture was taken from the road outside the haveli through the gap where the compound wall has fallen down
A giraffe painted in one of the panels on the walls of the Ganeriwala Char Chowk Haveli
The plain facade of the Goenka Niwas. I’m not sure if the haveli was ever painted with frescoes or not as it appears to have been whitewashed or covered with red ochre in the not too recent past.
This richly painted set of arches was stunning. Unfortunately, there was no way to identify which haveli it was and there was no one around who could give me this information
Just looking at the colours painted around the doorway makes me wonder what it must have looked like when it was just painted !
A faded fresco of a couple seated on a rock and looking into the distance. the features were too blorred for me to recognise them or the context.
A group of Westerners in a horse-drawn carriage. The horse’s body is almost gone and if not for the horse’s head, I might have wondered if it was an early version of a motor car !
Another horse drawn carriage
A man with a bicycle and a man in a motor car. Just an everyday scene from daily life !
I love trains and I have no hesitation in saying that this has to be my favourite fresco from Shekhawati for two reasons. (i) The trick of perspective used to give the image a 3D effect . (ii) The arch painted to frame the picture below serves as a bridge for the train in the picture above. 🙂
I can’t identify this monument with certainty, but think that this is the Tower of London. What do you think?
A town square somewhere in Europe. A tram / train puffs away, while in the distance a spire rises tall. Is it the Eiffel Tower?
A European couple relaxes outside their home.
A set of 3 figures. Though these could be stand alone pictures I can’t help reflecting on the placement. A man (an Indian) in the centre, flanked by two women on either side — an Indian and Western. the picture says a lot. 😉
Close-up of a portreait painted under the entrance archway of one of the locked havelis. Queen Victoria, perhaps?
Another series of fine and detailed portraits. Who were these men and woman?
Another set of portraits from the same entrance arch as the previous picture. This time the portraits are Indian. Who were these people?
These portraits can be found under the eaves of a haveli. Once again, are those women two different depictions of Queen Victoria? And who is the man in the centre?
I fell in love with this fragment of a portrait on a wall. Such a beautiful one, isn’t it?
One of the havelis, once again unidentifiable, had a series of rectabgular panels depicting scenes from Hindu Mythology. This one is of Ganesha, the God of beginnings.
The legend of Gajendra Moksham, where Vishnu came down to earth to save Gajenda the elephant from Makara the crocodile. Standing behind Vishnu is Garuda his mount.
After Rama’s pattabhishekham or coronation as King of Ayodhya
Baby krishna crawling his way to some mischief
Radha and Krishna, not to mention the pigeon !
Krishna and Radha in a playful mood
Krishna pining / waiting for Radha on the banks of the river Yamuna
Krishna playing the flute. You’ll see a close-up of the flute in the next picture
The flute is carved like a peacock at one end. Don’t you just love the detail?

Laxmangarh was the 4th town in Shekhawati I was visiting and by now I had started recognising and differentiating between the various styles and themes of the paintings. I had also started realising how different each town was, and for that matter how different each haveli was.

While Laxmangarh was different from the other Shekhawati towns in terms of the frescoes and the comparatively smaller size of the havelis, it was also different from the others in two very significant ways: (i) there were no women out in the streets, and in the 2 hours I was there I saw just one woman; and (ii) instead of peeing in the open on a wall, men were peeing into open urinals fitted on to walls. Go figure !

Notes:

  1. Laxmangarh 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.

Join me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as I explore Shekhawati and other places.

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 | The garbage well |

Published by sudhagee

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35 thoughts on “The painted towns of Shekhawati-4: Laxmangarh”

  1. Pingback: The painted towns of Shekhawati-3: Mandawa | My Favourite Things
  2. Pingback: The painted towns of Shekhawati: Past and present | My Favourite Things
  3. Pingback: The painted towns of Shekhawati-1: Nawalgarh | My Favourite Things
  4. Pingback: The painted towns of Shekhawati-2: Dundlod | My Favourite Things

  6. An interesting post but thus far Dundlod wins hands down ( for me). Waiting for the remaining three posts. Sudha, you have enough pictorial and text matter for a coffee table book on Shekawati. Go for it.

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    1. Dundlod, eh? I’ll ask you again at the end of the series. 🙂

      I don’t feel ready to write a book yet, but will think about it for sure. Promise.

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    1. Trains are a favourite and recurring theme across the towns of Shekhawati. But the ones in Laxmangarh were the most sophisticated and modern, if you know what I mean.

      If you like art, ruins and just wandering through towns then Shekhawati is the place for you. Just go. 🙂

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    1. Thank you, Niranjan. The art work is beautiful, but for me what is special is the creativity shown and how each artist has managed to showcase his work and leave his individuality and understanding behind. 🙂

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  11. Enjoyed reading your post again. The depiction of Krishna with the peacock flute is interesting. The sad state of the havelis is a reminder of how we value and treasure our heritage/property.

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    1. Thanks, Neena. Glad to know that you are onboard this Shekhawati series with me. Talking about the state of our havelis and our attitude towards them is a theme for a series of blogposts in itself ! 😦

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  12. Somehow the bit that stayed with me is the one where the fort has been sold off to build cellphone towers. Why on earth is anybody even allowed to do that. Property bought and sold is common but there must be some more aesthetically appealing purpose to such transactions. Sorry for the rant but too much of heritage in Rajasthan is now being squandered away.

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    1. The forts and havelis can be sold to anyone as they are private property. Some forts (like the ones in Mandawa and Dundlod) have been converted into hotels, some are just there crumbling bit by bit and some have been sold/leased to people with business interests. Laxmangarh Fort is situated on a hillock and is perfect for installing the cell towers in an otherwise flat landscape. The service provider is happy, the users are happy and the owner is happy. The only people who are not happy are people like you and me. 😦

      The understanding of what is heritage is contentious and very subjective, something that I intend to write about one day.

      Thanks for commenting, Richa. Good to see you here 🙂

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    1. Please, please don’t ask such things of me. Right now I’m just happy to write and share my travels on this blog. I’m not ready and don’t even know if I will be ready to write a book. 😛

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  14. Am totally loving this series, Sudha. here, the krishna ones are fascinating. loved that flute especially! and i am wondering why there were no women.. were they inside? or does the place have too few women in the first place?

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    1. Thanks, Anu. I’m enjoying writing this series too and I guess that’s coming across. 🙂

      Lakshmangarh was a puzzle at many levels, but the lack of women in the streets was stark. Maybe it was the timing (mid-morning) when the women would have been cooking or carrying out other household chores or maybe there was a women’s only festival happening and all women were gathered at one place or maybe I didn’t notice them… I don’t know. The one woman I met was with her husband and child and they were not residents of Laxmangarh. I know this for I asked the woman for directions and the man replied to me saying that they didn’t know for they were from another town !

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  15. Pingback: The painted towns of Shekhawati-5: Fatehpur | My Favourite Things
  16. Pingback: The painted towns of Shekhawati-6: Bissau | My Favourite Things
  17. Pingback: The painted towns of Shekhawati-7: Mahensar | My Favourite Things
  18. Pingback: The Shekhawati trip planner | My Favourite Things
  19. Pingback: The painter of murals | My Favourite Things
  20. Pingback: Messages on the wall: The graffiti of Nawalgarh | My Favourite Things
  21. Pingback: The stepwell at Lohargal | My Favourite Things
  22. Pingback: Travel Shot: The garbage well | My Favourite Things

  23. Hi, Your posts are wonderful. They are full of visuals and texts with historic and contemporary information. I am an artist from eastern India. Your blogs have inspired me to explore the Shekhawati region in detail. If possible please guide me the place/s from where anybody should start and what should be the route map to understand the tradition more effectively.

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    1. Hello Bilas, welcome here and thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. I’m honoured to have an artist commenting here. Regarding your visit to Shekhawati, may I suggest that you read this post –> https://sudhagee.com/2015/07/15/travel-rajasthan-the-shekhawati-trip-planner/? It is a trip planner and gives quite a bit of information. If there is any further information that you require than you can write to me here. Please don’t hesitate to contact me for any further assistance on Shekhawati.

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