Clearly, Rajasthan is a jewel in the country of India. Royal Palaces, Haveli, Bawari (bawdy) or may it be Forts, Rajasthan has them all with some of the world’s unique architecture and art like frescoes. Although Haveli’s still have that respect in the Indian culture. While the beginning of the haveli culture began with a mixture of Indo-Islamic architecture
Here I am going to tell you about a place known as late Shri Ram Gopal Podaar ki Haveli that I personally visited and became a fan of Marwari merchants who built those state of the art buildings. After all, when we are in Shekhawati, the land famous for its Chhatri’s, forts, and other monuments all dipped in the state of the art paintings known as Fresco.
But before I go and start telling you about my experience, It is worth understanding a Haveli. Basically, these are residential dwellings built by the rich Marwari merchants.
About Shekhawati
Shekhawati is a semi-arid region that encloses the modern-day districts of Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Churu, and some parts of Jaipur and Nagaur. It got its name from the Rajput Rao Shekha Ji, whose descendants were called Shekhawat. By the way, if we split the name into two parts like “Shekha” and “wati” then, it’s easy to understand that meaning of Shekhawati is Garden of Shekhawati. Because of the beautiful artwork in this region, Shekhawati is famous in the world and It is also called the world’s biggest open-air art gallery. If You are an art lover then this place is for you. One such example is Nadine le Prince cultural museum.
How To Reach
Reaching here is very simple, Either you can come to the Churu or Sikar districts of Rajasthan. From Sikar, you can get a direct bus to Churu, which will take you through Ramgarh Shekhawati, and from Churu, it is only 20 km. The bus will leave you at the Highway (entrance of Ramgarh) and you can get an auto-rickshaw for 20 rs to Seth Ramgopal Poadar Haveli.
About Seth Shri Ram Gopal Podaar ki Haveli.
The Podaar’s were one of the wealthiest merchants in the region. On the other hand, other communities like Ruila also had redundant money in their treasures. They all had their personal haveli’s. In the whole Shekhawati, you will find thousands of these. By the way, most of them in Ramgarh belong to the Podaar family.
Most of these traditional mansions have one courtyard but unlike these, there are also some which have two or even four courtyards. Unfortunately, I could not visit a four courtyard building because most of them are closed. Undoubtedly, these are even more magnificent than what I am going to talk about. But this does not mean that haveli I am telling you is lesser than anything.
What is special in the Haveli
The trefoil arch lets you enter inside this building and supported by carved pillars. Entering inside you will find a courtyard in the middle and rooms around it.
This is a double-story building and this beautiful building has 59 rooms and 399 door frames as told by the caretaker. On the ground floor, the rooms have a larger height than the second-story. usually, in all of the Shekhawati region, the height for the ground floor is 3.5 or more because of the challenging climate and 1.8 to 2.5m for the second-floor rooms.
The upper floor is not for common use, was used for special purposes. In addition to this, The upper floor has a specially dedicated room known as Rang Mahal. The Arayish (Hindi word) or fresco in this are great to see.
Frescoes
Frescoes are a type of paintings, painted on the surfaces of the walls & domes of the buildings built in a specific architecture of Shekhawati. These are special kinds of paintings drawn by hands on the plaster while it is wet. immediately after becoming dry they become the part of the plaster and get more durability. The beauty of these is famous worldwide and if you are an art lover then frescoes of Chhatri here are something that does not let you down.
While the art of frescoes does not end here only. In the Shekhawati region, there are thousands of Havlie’s, Chhatri’s, and Fort’s waiting to tell you the stories of our culture through paintings.
The Hole of Light
Seems like a simple Hole for keeping things inside but no, It was not just a hole. I wondered when I got to know about the purpose it is serving. Suppose you are sleeping in a room without electricity but you need that right? But you also do not want to take care of a candle or anything that lights your room. So you think of a servant to take care of the candle. However, You concern about your privacy too.
The Owners found a solution to this by making a hole in the walls that open into the room. By shutting the hole from inside with a mirror. Following to light up the room inside, the servants used to burn the candle and put it inside the hole from out of the room. Privacy and lighting all secured. Do you like this Idea? Well, I personally loved it.
Manual Cloth Fans In Haveli Rooms
Furthermore, I know you might have seen women around the king flowing cloth fans into some kind of drama or movie. The same used to happen here too But in a different way. The owners were Seth’s or merchants who loved the privacy. A pulley system that kept the fan running controlled by a servant with help of a rope connecting the fan through pulleys. Initially, when I entered this place I could not realize this but when the Caretaker told me about all this, I was impressed. Maybe you are also?
Hatdi, a small almirah In the wall
A hatadi (ha- ta- di) or a sort of almirah is everywhere in the haveli. Absolutely, it seems to be an important feature of the haveli. They were mostly used for keeping important things in place as we do keep in our almirah’s. Unquestionably, they are also aesthetic elements too.
Peephole of the Haveli
Do you know? that in older times, there were peephole systems already in use. Undoubtedly, they were not like the ones we have in our doors besides this they served the same job. Actually, they are a hole in the wall and from the main gate after a little passage, there is another small gate that lets to get inside. So servants used to see who is at the entrance and would decide to let the person come or not by the orders of the Seth.
Conclusion
Well, In the end, I only want to say that the whole Rajasthan is full of wonderful mesmerizing monuments. Also, It should be noted that Frescoes and mural paintings & Haveli culture is predominant in the Shekhawati region. While it would be a absolute pleasure to see such amazing attractions. In the last I would only say that If you are in India and have not witnessed what I have, Then You are seriously missing something great.
