Blogs from Shekhawati, Rajasthan, India, Asia

Shekawati region is a collection of countryiside towns that is known for it's painted havelis (traditional decorated residences). While now in an out of the way part of the countryside in the 14th century the towns were important trading posts on the caravan routes. We were staying in Madawa in a heritage hotel that is a restored haveli. It was a hot 4 hour drive to get there so we waited until the worst of the afternoon heat had passed before venturing out to explore in the late afternoon. We'd barely left the hotel before we were accosted by 2 young guys who insisted on accompanying us, they weren't guides and said they weren't after money but they just liked to talk to tourists. Initially we gave them heaps of ribbing, did they have a shop? ... read more

so we escaped from jaipur, the pink hectic city. We took our 4 hrs bus journey to a town where we had to get off and change buses for the last leg of the journey to Mandawa. We got on the 2nd bus and it soon filled up, but no sign of the driver. There we waited for atleast 30mins almost melting and surrounded by children who starred at us until the driver appeared. Then we were on our way to Mandawa. On arrival found a nice guesthouse reccomended by the lonely planet and that was where we stayed for a few days. From there we visited many havelis, its fort and its street markets. Dinner was under the stars on the rooftop restaurant. Peaceful with no cars hooting and slightly cleaner streets than in the ... read more

Shekhawati is a landscape of narrow country roads, half forgotten villages and beautiful havelis. (large ornate traditional houses). Crops of bright green mustard seeds, wheat and cauliflower interlaced with sandy tracks, ornate yellow sandstone wells and crumbling cenotaphs. An open air painting of shifting colour and light. Once an area on the silk trade route between the ports of the Arabian Sea and the Ganges Valley, the wealthy Shekhawati 'thakurs' (noblemen) were able to build fantastic residences, decorated from top to bottom with frescos. The paintings depict Hindu gods, portraits of local dignitaries and maharajas, scenes of everday life, and the latest inventions of the time. Often the artists had never seen the wonders they were painting and imagination had free rein - mythology and modernity combined to give real images. Personal favourites included Krishna flying ... read more

We visited Rajasthan with James and Karita. James has been in Delhi about 2 years and Karita has been here about 18 months. He is from Boston and she is from Finland but they met in Bejing a few years ago. They invited us to join them for a few days in Mandawa which is about a 6 hour drive from Delhi. Upon our arrival in Mandawa, we were surprised to hear a story that a Bollywood producer has paid 95,000 rupees (about $2000 US dollars) to burn a Mandawa Haveli which has 200 year old frescos painted on the inside. We were allowed to tour the Haveli for $4 per person and we took a few photos of what indeed appeared to be fire damaged fresco paintings on the inside of one of these homes. ... read more

We begin the day in the capital city of Delhi, make our way through the endless mustard fields of Haryana, and finally arrive in the dusty towns of northwest Rajasthan. December 29th, 2005 We met our new driver, Hukam, and tied our suitcases to the rack on top of the car. We would tie and untie those suitcases many times over the next few weeks. I was really worried that the suitcases wouldn't stay on top of the car. I also had an irrational worry that a passing elephant would poo on the suitcases. That turned out to be an ill-founded concern as there were very few elephants about. My last concern, that the bags would be stolen from atop the car was also unfounded. Perhaps the tiny locks helped, but I think it's just that ... read more