The Fading Frescoes and Abandoned Mansions of Shekhawati | Rajasthan

Shekhawati had been an enigma to me till the winter of 2018.

Having been born and brought up in Jaipur, Rajasthan, it was surprising as well as a little embarrassing that I knew so little about the region, otherwise famous as the World’s largest open-air art gallery!

So finally, I set off on a road trip to this intriguing place with a friend in Dec 2018.

Backed with google maps, a book by Ilay cooper and a reliable car we set off to explore this relatively obscure and unexplored region.

Nothing could have prepared us for the sublime, quaint, dusty towns, ruins of grand abandoned havelis, fading frescoes as if in a time warp waiting patiently to be reunited with their inhabitants.

If walls could talk, they would tell us tales of Rao Shekha and his clan- the founders of Shekhawati.

This vast region, spread across three districts of Jhunjhunu, Churu and Sikar, on the edges of the Thar desert in Rajasthan, takes its name from the illustrious ruler, Rao Shekha (1433-1488)- a scion of the Kachhwaha family of Jaipur.  He broke away, and proclaimed sovereignty in 1471 ad, thus Shekhawati came into existence.

Shekhawati literally means “the land of Shekha’s clan” or “the gardens of the Shekha”.

The region has a rich legacy of a fresco art form that’s unique to the place. Once an affluent region on the silk route, this area is home to many of India’s prominent business families — Birla, Poddar, Bajaj, Modi, Jhunjhunwala, Khaitan, Oswal, Piramal, Singhania, Parasrampuriya and Goenka,among othersbelong to this region.

The region became a hub of international trade because of its strategic location in the middle of the silk route. The local merchant community, known as Marwaris(From the word Maroo)became rich in the trade and transport of opium, cotton, and spices.

This rise in the opulence of Marwaris led to the rise of the Haveli - ornately decorated private residences. These grand and spectacularly decorated havelis denoted the wealth & prestige of the owner.

At the beginning of the 19th century, trade opportunities shifted to the seaports of Mumbai and Calcutta, thus the traders movedin search of new opportunities, but they stayed connected to their roots by maintaining and continuing to commission frescos for their Shekhawati havelis. The land of Shekhawati hence became the home of the largest concentration of frescoes in the world.

‘Fresco’ is an Italian term for the oldest known painting technique in which the pigments are directly painted on fresh, wet lime plaster. This technique imparts a permanence to the painting,often lasting as long as the structure holds. This environment friendly method kept the walls cool in winters and warm in summers. Natural pigments extracted from plants, minerals, and stones were used. 22-karat-gold leaf was incorporated at times for a rich effect.

The method of Fresco was a cheaper substitue of marble due to itsmarble like smooth and glossy finish to the walls.There are two distinct techniques used to make Frescos: the wet plaster method known as ‘fresco-buono’, and second, ‘fresco-secco’, in which paintings were done on the dry surface of the wall.

The wet lime plaster Fresco work is also known by other colloquial names such as “geela-aalapadhati”, Araish, Alagila, and Morakasi.

The paintings were made by Chitera(artist) who belonged to the Kumhar (potter) community. They are also known as chejars (Masons) since they did both the construction job as well as painting.Shekhawati frescoes mostly depict themes of decorative designs, daily life, religion, rasa leela, folk mythology, historical events or personalities, flora and fauna, certain places, and themes which were in step with the changing times such asarrival of the British, modes of transport like trains, cars, and bicycles, European aristocracy, Jesus etc.  Some bit of erotica and fantasy can also be found.

The architecture of the Havelis is as magnificent as the embellishment but that demands a separate blog on its own. The merchants not only commissioned Havelis but also temples, dharamshalas, stepwells, johras or reservoirs, Kunda or underground water strorage and cenotaphs. Some of the lesser known towns of Dundlod, Fatehpur, Ramgarh, Mahansar, Bissau,Mukundgarh, Baggar, Alsisar have marvelous Havelis.

The havelis are mostly empty now, and their desolation, combined with their scale and opulence, evokes a feeling of awe and grief. Some of them are in such a state of decay that it is painfully shocking. Few have been converted into hotels, some into museums, some have caretakers living in them, but most havelis are abandoned or locked away and are crumbling. The once bright frescoes are fading, disappearing or are covered under layers of dust and dirt and in some cases whitewashed over.

The very prosperity that gave birth to these painted havelis became the reason for their abandonment and ruin. The small towns like Ramgarh have an eerie haunted feel to them.

It is uncanny that one can pass through the towns of Shekhawati without being moved by either feeling of exhilaration or awe or overwhelming sadness or perhaps all of them at the same time.Even in this state of decay, the mansions here are a treat to the eyes-such is the appeal of these fading frescoes and murals.