The Painted Havelis of Shekhawati
Launch library · evergreen read
The Shekhawati region of Rajasthan holds one of the densest concentrations of painted mansions found anywhere in the world, built largely by wealthy merchant families who made their fortunes through trade during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These havelis, grand courtyard homes, became canvases for elaborate mural painting covering nearly every available surface.
Painters covered exterior walls, archways and interior courtyards with scenes ranging from Hindu mythology to European inspired imagery, the latter reflecting merchant families' growing exposure to colonial era trade and travel. Trains, cars and even early aeroplanes appear alongside traditional deities, a visual record of a merchant class absorbing new global influences.
Many of these merchant families eventually relocated to larger commercial centres such as Kolkata and Mumbai as trade patterns shifted, leaving their grand Shekhawati homes behind, occupied by caretakers or standing empty for long stretches of the year. This departure, while economically significant, has left much of the original artwork remarkably undisturbed by later renovation.
Today the region is sometimes described as an open air gallery, its scattered towns holding hundreds of painted havelis in varying states of preservation. Restoration efforts have gained momentum in recent years, though many buildings remain vulnerable to weathering and neglect, making a visit feel like an encounter with a fading, irreplaceable art form.