The Forgotten Town of Opulent Seths
All Photos: Sanjay Basak
Sanjay Basak visited Churu, a sleepy and historic town in Rajasthan, to explore havelis, art, and remnants of history tucked in modern times.
Churu, a small sleepy town in Rajasthan is off the tourists’ radar. It's little over a 5-hour drive from Gurgaon. Churu, in the Shekhawati region is known for its grand havelis with marvellous fresco paintings with intricate work. Most of the paintings, barring few, are languishing in a poor state. But one can imagine how grand they must have been when they were first made.
Once a flourishing trade route, cutting through the Shekhawati region, the wealthy Marwaris of the time had built their grand, opulent, havelis (mansions) with sprawling courtyards, many enclosed within lofty walls. With time the merchants left for Kolkata, Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai leaving most of their mansions to crumble. Families that stayed back cannot afford their upkeep.
At Churu we stayed at Malji ka Kamra - a century-old, restored mansion. This was an entertainment house, or a ‘rangmahal’, of one of the richest Marwaris of Churu: Malji Kothari. This mansion was built to entertain his guests and the central dancing hall used to be the location for all the dance and music performances.
In and around Churu are many little towns. Of which we visited Ramgarh and Mehansar. Ramgarh, like Churu, is also replete with havelis. However, the character of these havelis changes. While the ones in Churu are large, rambling, the ones in Ramgarh are smaller with more intricate work - including beautiful ceramic work.
Mehansar is an inconspicuous little town, brought alive by the sprawling Mehansar Fort. We stayed in a lovely little homestay inside the fort and drank copious amounts of home-brewed arak amidst peacocks dancing in the courtyard.
Sanjay Basak is the chief of bureau and senior associate editor at The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle in New Delhi. He grew up between Kolkata and New Delhi. He has spent 30-odd years as a journalist, also working at The Telegraph, ZEE News, Doordarshan, and more. Basak now mainly writes on politics. He is also an amateur photographer and a painter.
