Heritage Mansions in Rajasthan
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Heritage mansions in Rajasthan, or havelis, are as popular with visitors as some of the palaces in the region. Some of these havelis, with their multistory structure, lavish décor, and huge arched entrances, can rival the palace of a king. Therefore, it is not a wonder that almost all these havelis were built by important people in the king’s court, or wealthy merchants and traders.

Take the Patwon ki Haveli, located in a small, nondescript by lane of Jaisalmer. This is the last place you would expect to find a structure of such magnificent proportions. The entrance is guarded by two huge elephants created out of sandstone. The haveli has 66 – yes, right, 66! – balconies. Built in typically Rajasthani style, the grandeur of the haveli offers an insight into the lavish lifestyle and untold wealth of the ancient traders of Rajasthan. The descendants of the original owners of the haveli still reside here, while the other parts of the haveli are given out to traders and the Archaeological Survey of India.

The Samode Haveli, located 50 kilometers away from Jaipur, is another one of those magnificent residences built during the boom in trade a few centuries back. The main attraction at the haveli is the stone carving of an elephant at the entrance.

The walls are adorned with mirrors, etchings, and frescoes in typically Rajasthani style. The first residents, long since dead, peer down from the walls, immortalized in large portraits. The Samode houses a hotel, and is quite a hit with visitors to the region.

Mandawa Haveli is one of the “newer” havelis in Rajasthan, having been built only in the 1890s. No wonder its architecture shows traces of British influence. Like many other old residences in the region, Mandawa Haveli too has been converted into a hotel. Let not the typical bustle of a hotel distract you from quietly contemplating the mystique of the past here. To help you do this better, there is a museum that displays clothing and artifacts from that period.

Salim Singh ki Haveli draws visitors not only because of its beauty, but also its dark past. The haveli, built by the flamboyant Salim Singh, a man who avenged the murder of his courtier father by killing most of the courtiers of the Jaisalmer court, has seen intrigue, assassination plots, and debauchery. The dancing girls no longer frequent the large, lavish hall, but that lingering feeling – part frightening, part tragic, part heroic – is hard to shake off here.

The Alsisar is another haveli-hotel in Rajasthan. The main attraction here is the large hall, now a dining room that has real gold fillings in the frescoes.

The Shekhawati region has some of the finest havelis in Rajasthan. Located not too far from Jaipur, it is here that you will find a variety of havelis, big and small, humble and ornate, purely Rajasthani or part Mughal and European in style. The frescoes and paintings here are worth a look, for each haveli was decorated around a different theme. Deities, animals, folktales, Rajput kings, characters from mythology, even foreign monarchs come alive on the pillars, walls, balconies, ceilings, and arches of the havelis through miniature paintings, carvings, and frescoes.

Visiting the larger heritage mansions in Rajasthan is like stepping back into the past – full of romance, intrigue, mystery, and tragedy.

The smaller mansions also allow visitors to peek into the life of the common people in those days, people who did not live in palaces and forts, who were not carried to palaces on elephants, who traded and sold goods for a living, and went about life oblivious of what it was to live in gilded palaces.