The painted towns of Shekhawati-5: Fatehpur

Ilay Cooper’s book on Shekhawati set me off on an extraordinary trip to that 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 Fatehpur is the sixth 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.

The door to the haveli was shut. A signboard (in Hindi, English and French) requesting visitors to ring the bell if they wished to tour the haveli greeted me instead. I rang the bell and waited. And I waited and waited some more… Just as I was getting ready to ring the doorbell again, I heard footsteps approaching the door.

The door opened and I found myself face to face with a young man, a Westerner, who said in a distinctly French accent, “Hello ! Sorry I took so long to open the door. I was in another part of the haveli. Are you here to see it?

“Yes, please, ” I said.

“Great ! My name is Jonathan and I’m an art history student. I’ll take you around the haveli. Would you like the tour to be in Hindi, English or French?”

I gaped at Jonathan and said, “Umm… English please.”

“Wonderful,” beamed Jonathan. “Welcome to the Nadine Le Prince Haveli.”

And that’s how an art history student from France took me on a guided tour of a haveli in Fatehpur in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan, India.

But more about that later, as I have to introduce you to Fatehpur and take you around some of the other havelis there first. 🙂

Fatehpur was founded on the site of an earlier settlement in 1451 by Fateh Khan, a Kaimkhani or Muslim Rajput. His successors ruled Fatehpur till 1731 when they were evicted by Sheo Singh of Sikar. Thereafter, a series of rulers played musical chairs to control the region — the Kaimkhanis briefly came back in the 1740s for a short while only to be ousted again; the Marathas, too, controlled of the area for a brief period in the last decade of the 18th century, and so on

The bania community had always flourished in Fatehpur from the time it was ruled by the Kaimkhanis. Perhaps, that’s the reason why some of the oldest havelis and frescoes in the region are in Fatehpur. The prominent business families of Fatehpur were the Singhanias, Poddars, Devras, Sarogis, Chaudharys and Ganeriwalas, with most of them migrating to the cities in the 19th century. Fatehpur is still considered to be a relatively prosperous town, but today’s prosperity comes from remittances from the Gulf region, where many Muslim youth of the town are employed.

When I arrived in Fatehpur on that January afternoon and had my first look at the havelis, I realised that this was no ordinary painted town. Unfortunately, it rained through most of my visit making it difficult to walk in the slush and mud town. I had also arrived around lunch and siesta time, which meant that the watchmen/caretakers of the few havelis open to visitors had disappeared locking the doors behind them. Still, I did manage to see the interiors of two havelis; I also saw a few others from the outside, though I didn’t always know which one I was seeing. Most of them didn’t have any board outside, you see. 😦

Architecturally, the havelis were quite similar to what I had seen elsewhere in the other painted towns. Most of the havelis were built in the traditional Rajput Mughal style; only one or two showed colonial influence. The real difference was in the subject of the paintings and the colours used.

Like every other painted town visited in Shekhawati, Fatehpur too had a very distinctly different set of frescoes. The usual religious themes were there, but with a twist — an element of fantasy had crept in some of them. The quality of the paintings and the detailing was exquisite even if some of them had been copied from an existing print.

For example, see the photo on the left, which is adapted from a Raja Ravi Varma painting. Painted inside the entrance arch to a haveli, the detailing and colours of this artwork, which measures about 6-8 inches across, has to be seen to be believed; the photograph doesn’t quite capture it. Do see the photograph of the artwork below as well.

There has been a lot of experimentation with colour in the havelis of Fatehpur. Unlike other painted towns in the region, which can be identified by a dominant colour scheme used there, it was difficult to pick out one for Fatehpur as the entire colour spectrum can be found on the walls of its havelis.

It wouldn’t be incorrect to say that the most colourful frescoes in Shekhawati are to be found in Fatehpur. From the earthy combination of red ochre and indigo blue, to yellow ochre to delicate pastels to olive greens to monochromes to the use of the most brilliant shade of turquoise (see photograph below) … they are all there.

Fatehpur was the 4th town in Shekhawati I visited and though I was as awestruck by the frescoes and the variety like in the other towns, my viewing was more disciplined. Unlike the first time at a haveli in Nawalgarh where I didn’t know where to look first and kept rushing from one wall to another and generally made myself dizzy, I took time to view each fresco at each haveli that I was able to view, one by one, from top to bottom and in a clockwise manner. After all the havelis and the frescoes weren’t going anywhere !

Presenting a set of 50 photographs from the painted havelis of Fatehpur. They cover religious themes, geometrical designs, portraits, fantastical interpretations of popular myths, and some whimsical ones as well. 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 and read about my time at the Nadine Le Prince Haveli.

A locked up haveli. The frescoes have faded and are further obscured by dust, but what caught my attention were the cast iron railings. See the next picture for the details

Close up of a cast iron railing surrounding the verandah of a haveli. Even though it is covered with dust, one can make out the forms of Krishna and Radha

A street in Fatehpur

Faded frescoes on the external wall of a crumbling haveli

The brightly painted facade of the Nadine Le Prince Haveli. Note how the frescoes at the ground level of the haveli have been whitewashed over after they had faded completely

A closer look at the external wall of the Nadine Le Prince Haveli

And an even closer look at the figures painted on one of the exterior walls of the Nadine Le Prince Haveli. My favourite? The lady in the salwar kameez 🙂

This little projection on the haveli has been painted to look as if an elephant is emerging from the walls.

A newly restored / repainted haveli. This continues to be a private residence and while the owners have decided to retain the painted look, the colours are all new and, in my opinion, quite ugly.

Where the old and the new meet. The faded frescoes on the walls of the haveli on the left can still be seen, while the brash bold colours of the newly painted haveli on the right offers contrast

Zoomed in on this painted entrance to the Dedhia haveli from the road. I was attracted by the colours and the detailing.

Painted portion above a door in the Nadine Le Prince Haveli

One of the courtyards at the Nadine Le Prince Haveli. While some of the frescoes have been left as it is, most of the interiors were repainted again in the early 2000s as part of restoration work carried out here

One of the walls in a courtyard at the Nadine Le Prince Haveli. The upper portion of the wall has been left as it is, while the lover portion has been repainted

Delicately painted birds on a tree. Doesn’t it look almost Japanese in design?

Indigo and red ochre combined to create a beautiful geometrical pattern.

I can never look at plain ceilings without wondering what they might look like if painted like this. A ceiling at the Nadine Le Prince Haveli painted to look like a persian carpet

A ceiling embellished with mirrows and some fine paintings all around at the Nadine Le Prince Haveli

Another painted ceiling at the Nadine Le Prince Haveli

One of the rooms at the Nadine Le Prince Haveli

The interiors of a haveli which is inhabited by the caretaker and his family. The caretaker had gone for his siesta and his wife would not wake him up. She communicated only through gestures and could/would not say the name of the haveli.

More signs of habitation in a haveli. All very domestic, isn’t it?

Frescoes damaged by smoke from the kitchen at the Dedhia Haveli

Look how wall has been used for painting frescoes. The area below the windows have been painted in such a way that it looks like a railing is actually there. The space between the windows have been used to depict human figures. (Dedhia Haveli)

This richly painted wall at the Dedhia Haveli has so many details that it boggles the mind.

Detail from the previous picture at Dedhia Haveli: a fantastical rendering of a winged flying car 🙂

Detail from a wall at the Dedhia Haveli. Gajalakshmi is painted in the space between the two windows and above her is a flying dragon car held aloft by an angel / fairy.

Krishna stealing butter while Balarama hides behind a pillar and Yashoda looks on. Look at the 3D perspective that the artist has created. (Dedhia Haveli)

A reproduction of Raja Ravi Varma’s painting of Damayanti and the swan messenger

I have no idea what myth or legend this painting depicts. Is that Krishna being depicted in the body of a bird? Or is it another depiction of Damayanti and the swan messenger? A swan messenger with a moustache?

Shakuntala pining for Dushyanta.

King George V

King George V and Queen Mary of Britain

Elephant driven car ! Wonder who the two occupants in the car are. I almost get the feelin g that these two people are off to attend some secret conclave !

Surya, the Sun God, in his horse-drawn chariot

Chandra, the Moon God, being driven in a chariot drawn by antelopes

From the Bhagawat Purana: Putana, the demoness, suckling the infant Krishna.

The details of this fresco can barely be seen but it is Krishna playing some music on the gramophone while Radha listens 🙂

From the Bhagawat Purana: The death of Krishna. The only other time I have seen a depiction of this event was in an Amar Chitra Katha comic book.

Olive, red and blue. What a combination of colours and what a scene. I was particularly fascinated by the musicians depicted at the four corners of the of this painting.

When I saw this painting on the walls of an unidentified haveli, I wondered who it could be. Then the details started registering — the crown, the jewels and most of all the bow and the arrow. It was Rama.

A flash of a bright turquoise caught my attention here and what do I see?

Another view of the turquoise-coloured fresco

And a close-up too ! I still can’t get over how the colour turquoise just makes the fresco look so much richer

I absolutely loved how space or lack of it has not hindered creativity. Look how the wall between the window and the overhang has been used to paint this dog who appears to have made himself very comfortable there.

A hunter and his dog with very distinct hound like features. (Nadine Le Prince Haveli)

One of my all-time favourite frescoes. I just love the way the dog is trotting out to greet the boy, who is probably returning from school. Such a heart-warming depiction 🙂 (Nadine Le Prince Haveli)

Kite flying or should I say lantern flying? 🙂 (Nadine Le Prince Haveli)

One of the most common themes across the painted havelis — horse drawn carriages. (Nadine Le Prince Haveli)

I don’t know who this lady is or why the man in the picture is carrying a stuffed doll under his arm, but I found this oddly compelling. (Nadine Le Prince Haveli)

The Nadine Le Prince Haveli was the last one I visited in Fatehpur. The rain had really picked up by that time and I was glad to get inside a haveli and wait till it stopped. As Jonathan showed me around the by now familiar layout of a Shekhawati haveli, he narrated the history of the haveli.

Built in 1880, it was originally known as the Nand Lal Devra Haveli. It was bought by Nadine Le Prince, a French artist, in 1999 who painstakingly restored it bit by bit. Some of the portions were repainted while portions were managed with a good round of cleaning. Over the years, Haveli Nadine has become a cultural hub in the region, especially for visiting artists. There is an art gallery on the premises where exhibitions are held. With the help of volunteers, a heritage walk of Fatehpur’s havelis is being conceptualised and planned. A couple of trial runs have already been done

Jonathan was an excellent guide. Apart from the haveli and Shekhawati frescoes, we also spoke about his time in India. When I asked him how he came to Shekhawati, his answer surprised me.

You know, for the French and especially those who study art and history, the introduction to India is not the Taj Mahal as it is for the rest of the world or yoga or spirituality. It is Shekhawati and its painted havelis. We study about this in our art and history classes. I came here on a study tour and liked it so much that I decided to stay back for 6 months and volunteer my services here.

This statement made many things clear to me. While I had not come across any Indian tourists or travellers in Shekhawati, the international tourists I had come across were all French.

After the tour, Jonathan and I had a great conversation about art and travel, and the Shekhawati frescoes in particular. Suddenly, he excused himself and came back with a book and said, “Since you’re so interested in art and Shekhawati, you should buy this book.” It was Ilay Cooper’s book. I smiled and pulled out my copy from the backpack and showed it to him.

“Oh, that’s wonderful. You should have come here two days back. Ilay Cooper was here,” said Jonathan.

I can’t tell you how crushed I felt at that moment. To have chosen to visit Shekhawati because of a book and then to discover that I missed meeting the author of that book by two days. 2 days ! Sometimes life is not fair, I tell you. 😦

Notes:

1. Fatehpur is 48 km from Nawalgarh, my base in Shekhawati, and little over an hour’s ride 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 | The garbage well |