Mandawa: The centre of the Shekhawati region
Mandawa: The ancient caravan routes
The small desert town of Mandawa is located about 260 km west of Delhi in the Shekhawati region. Its central location between Delhi, Bikaner and Jaipur makes it a good first and last stopover on round trips, so Mandawa has now become one of the centers of tourism in Shekhawati. The main attraction here are the many haveli, the estates of wealthy merchant families that serve simultaneously as warehouses and residences, and which, especially in this area, are profusely decorated with elaborate murals. They were built between the late 18th and early 20th centuries by the Marwari merchants of the region. Through a high gate, which even loaded camels could pass through, one entered a courtyard enclosed by multi-story buildings. Here lay the often particularly splendidly decorated reception room for guests (baithak), as well as storerooms and quarters for the men. Small doors led into the second private courtyard of the haveli, where the domestic life of the family took place. Mandawa was founded in 1765 by Sardul Singh. He gave the village, through which the ancient Silk Road used to pass, the necessary security for its later development into a trading settlement by building a fort and a city wall. It is also thanks to the fort and city wall that a siege by the Thakur of Jaipur and the Thakur of Sikar was successfully repelled in 1828. Since the principalities of Bikaner in the northwest and Jaipur in the south demanded high customs duties for the transit of goods at the beginning of the 19th century in order to fill their coffers, trade on the major caravan routes soon concentrated in the Shekhawati region as a duty-free area. Goods traded included cloth, tobacco, precious metals, opium, jewelry, paper and ivory, as well as iron ore, wheat, rice and dried fruit. Mandawa thus quickly acquired some wealth, and the local merchants began to demonstrate their wealth to the outside world through the artistic decoration of their havelis. The fact that they did not try to imitate the refined courtly style, but rather bluntly displayed their personal taste, makes the special charm of this folk art on the building. Most of the painted havelis can be found along the main street running from east to west, at the end of which is a magnificent gate. The many murals combine to form a unique picture book of Indian culture on the threshold of modern times. Initially, the main motifs were arabesques, floral patterns or birds, but gradually religious motifs were added, scenes from the two epics (the Ramayana and the Mahabharata), from local folk tales, as well as hunting scenes. Later, on the facades of numerous havelis, motifs with a European influence can be found by the dozen, with the depictions often influenced by the imagination of the painters. For example, on the facade of the Balkishan Sriram Saraf-Haveli, one finds the faded image of a ship and a train. On the Madanlal House, an Englishman is depicted riding a bicycle. Since the artist had obviously never seen one of these vehicles, he made a few amusing mistakes.
At the Binsidhar Newatia Haveli, one can trace the history of modern transportation in precise images: a European woman in a chauffeur-driven car, the Wright brothers in a strange flying machine with only one wing, and Lilienthal with his multiple wings made of canvas. In addition, a boy using a telephone. At other Haveli one finds a white woman in a bathtub, a church wedding, a gramophone, Europeans with fashionable hats and Victorian finery and at the Nandalal Murmuria – Haveli (1935) there is to admire beside Gandhi and Nehru even a view of Venice. From the frequent depiction of British officers and troops, one can also conclude that the relationship was quite good, based on the military protection of the sensitive trade routes. The merchants made no secret of the fact that they were beneficiaries of foreign rule. Today, almost all of the former merchant families live in the large cities. Walking around Mandawa, one can sometimes only guess at the former wealth of the place. The old family palaces are decaying and some of the painted pictures are weathered and faded because there is no money or interest in preserving them. Erotic depictions have been whitewashed in many places by prudish contemporaries. Some of the haveli are still inhabited by guards or family members, who often let you visit the courtyards with their living quarters for a fee. However, the increasing tourism has also meant that after many years of decay, more work is being done to preserve the historic buildings.
Heritage Hotel in Mandawa