Known for its Shekhawati paintings, Mandawa has much more to offer its visitor, realised rakesh kumar
When I first heard about the place, Mandawa, I mistakenly related it to
Mandwa of Agneepath fame. It was our driver, who was taking us there,
who quickly corrected me and said, "It is Mandawa not Mandwa."
Founded in the mid-18th century, Mandawa in Jhunjhuni district of
Rajasthan was once home to rich merchant families. These wealthy
merchants had constructed enormous havelis that were grandly decorated.
While many of these havelis are now in a sorry state, the wall paintings
in them are still intact. The beautiful fresco wall paintings that
decorate all the havelis is the hallmark of the Shkehawati region, under
which Mandawa too falls.
Just 260 km away from Delhi, it took us seven hours to reach there late
at night. At first sight, Mandawa appeared to be a quaint, almost
uninhabited town. This impression quickly disappeared as we entered the
Sara Vilas Hotel, where we were accorded a royal welcome.
Magical start
The first day greeted us with several surprises, the foremost being the
hotel itself. Set in idyllic, beautifully landscaped gardens, housing 62
vilas and three suites, the hotel has spectacular views with large
terraces. It was designed to recreate the regal ambience of a bygone
era, promising to be a perfect getaway.
At breakfast, the hotel manager informed us of the many places to
explore in the small town. He recommended Mandawa fort, royal
havelis, fresco paintings, temples, wild life, camel ride, markets and
much more. He also informed us that a number of Bollywood films,
including Aamir Khan starrer PK, Jab We Met with Shahid Kapoor and
Kareena, Shahrukh starrer Paheli and Sanjay Dutt's Zed Plus were shot in
Mandawa.
This information increased our expectations and we set out to explore
Mandawa. Acting as our guide, our driver told us that Mandawa is
popularly known as the open art gallery of Rajasthan due to its murals
and frescoes depicting tales from mythology, legends and contemporary
life. The havelis also attracted a large number of foreign tourists, who
were minutely examining the paintings.
We first visited the Gulab Rai Ladia Haveli, which was closed from all
sides and had one large main gate. Like other havelis, there were two
courtyards ~ the outer one meant for men and an inner one in the women's
quarters. Next on the list was Hanuman Parsad Goenka Haveli. Its
architecture was the same but the haveli depicted paintings of Lord
Indra on an elephant and Lord Shiva. The Goenka Double Haveli was twin
havelis built for two brothers. It has two gates, its portico adorned
with elephants and horses. We then visited
Mohanlal Saraf Haveli, Chowkhani Haveli, Bhagchandika Haveli and
Lakshmi Narayan Ladia Haveli. Most of them are in a ruined state or are
maintained by a watchman. Some of them have been converted into hotels.
Interestingly, one of the watchmen informed that the absentee owners
lived in Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata. Since the ownership is shared by
several siblings or cousins, they cannot come to an agreement on
maintenance.
Nawalgarh
After our tour of Mandawa's havelis, our guide insisted we visit
Nawalgarh too, which is 30 km from Manadwa and also known for its
havelis. What we noticed that havelis here are cleaner and better
maintained. Like Mandawa, in Nawalgarh too, there are many famous
havelis are to see, but due to lack of time we managed to visit only the
Poddar Museum. Here were preserved not only fresco paintings but the
havelis gave a glimpse of Rajasthani culture. From trains to Krishna and
mythology characters, from various types of Pagdis (headgear) to
wedding dresses, there was so much to see that it took us two hours and
cost us our lunch too. Our day ended with a camel ride to the highest
sand dunes in the village, from where we got the best view of Mandawa.
Wild-life
