Shekhawati Circuit

Shekhawati Cricuit   (Sikar - Nawalgarh - Dundlod - Mandawa - Jhunjhunu)

The region Shekhawati gets its name from the Rajput Kachhwaha Chieftain Rao Shekha. The story of Shekha’s birth is rather interesting to understand the origin of shekhawati. Mokal ji and his wife were a distirbed couple as they had no son or heir for several years. They heard about the mircaculous power of the blessing Sheikh Burhan, a Muslim saint. Upon hearing this they decided to pay yhe man visit. After they received the blessings of the sheikh, a son was born to the Couple. In honour of the mendicant, the couple named their son shekha.

Rao shekha came to power at a prime age of 12 regined for 43 years and was a power to reckon with. But after the regin of rajput, came in the britsh. The latter patronized their own kind of trade that required the marwaris to rush to fresh pastures like Kolkata and Mumbai . thus the beautiful shekhawati  towns gradually came to be abandoned. But while they prospered elsewhere , they sent back huge sums for the nouveau rich marwaris found a way to display their wealth by commissioning intricate frescos on their havelis.

It is only in the last two decades that the shekhawati region acquired a fillip, with its art begin the central focus. And the children of the house of shekha are now back, opening their dusty family castles and turning them into hotels. And the rest as they say is history.

Places of Interest

When you trave through the region an’open art gallery’ its like going through a riot of color. Wherever you cast an eye, frescoes smile back. In shekhawati you journey through the magical land of havelis painted in vivid, vibrant hues with white chattries . As you walk through the narrow winding lanes, you begin slowing down, infect with the pace of life here. Soak in the effervescence of color, color and just more color all around you.

Although the idea of frescoes might have been imported from the splendid fort- palace of amber, which was in trun influenced by those of the mughal courts, its reached a completely new form in the hands of the artists of shekhawati, and as you do you’ll find that shekhawati has the greatest concentration of painted forts, chhatris (cenotaphs), temple and havelis in the country.

In fact, this is also the largest collection of murals in the entire world. The shekhawat rajputs financed the earlier frescoes in this colourful fantasy world, but later the wealthy business class of the marwar region the marwaris patronized the art. Apart from adding vitality to the arid landscape, the frescoes are an interesting documentation of the history of the region ranging from religious to folk and mythological themes. Gradually the influence of the british  east meets west percolated into the artwork with hats, cars, ships, airplanes and men in suits.

Some of the flourishing towns to visit in the region are Sikar with Gopinath, Raghunath temples  as well as the Biyani blue and white havelies. You must also pay a visit to the Harsh Nath and Jeen Mata temples in the vicinity.

A little out of the city Nawalgarh founded in the 18^th century by Nawal singh, has some of the finest frescos in the shekhawati region. A huge fort here with colourful bazaars and numerous havelis with elaborate architecture makes  it an interesting destination. There are a few prominent havelis like Anandilal Poddar Haveli, Hodh Raj Patodia Haveli.

Then  Dhundlod fort heart of shekhawati region, 7 km from Nawalgarh is a blend of the Rajput and Mughal art and architecture. Now the fort is converted into a cosy heritage hotel. The Goenka Haveli too is worth a visit for the beautiful frescos and the fine mirror work above the windows and feature of florets and birds in the outer courtyard.

And if you have passion for riding a fine breed of horses await you. Besides the thikana Khansamas (chefs) can dole out delicious cuisines for epicurean in you.

Close to the fort lies the chhatri of ram dutt Goenka. Also worth a visit is the Satyanarayan Temple built by the Goenka family. On the wall of the temples is a huge fresco with modern trappings showing british men and cars, it also shows a long train and has a backdrop of telegraph wires.

A must see for you would be the imposing mirage like fort Mandawa now a heritage hotel that is maintained in the classic medieval theme with modern luxuries. It also houses the ceremonial costumes of the family collection and the precious arms with jade handles and beautiful curios brought by the british as a gift for the nobles.