To be a romantic

When opulence is charming

Why would someone build beautiful havelis in a dry and desolate place like this? And not just someone , but an entire community who were rich and prosperous and traded with countries in the middle east and Europe in as early as the 19th century. Surely they could find a much better place to reside.

This was how I felt when I was driving through Shekhawati. I could only see acres and acres of farm lands interspersed with Khejri trees , standing like old setinels. Interspersed among them, were a few odd mud huts and a occasional old well. The wells with pulleys looked too old to be in use.

Then a few small houses started appearing in front of us. In a short while we had beautiful old havelis on both the side of the narrow road. We had entered the village of Alsisar. After a short drive we arrived at our hotel, a beautiful painted Shekhawati haveli . The Manager showed us around the haveli. We accompanied him to the terrace.The village looked so welcomingly pleasant.There were no cars, no din of the marketplace, no pollution.The sun was already setting and we were yet to have our lunch.The dining room was elegant and exuded old world charm.The food felt good. 

After lunch we went out to explore the village.We visited a few havelis of prosperpous merchants of Marwari community. The members of the community now live in the bigger cities. The havelis are looked after by caretakers. They willingly showed us around the havelis. There were frescoes all over the walls depicting scenes from the epics, myths and popular legends.Everything was so colourful , yet so lonely. An air of calm and quiet soberness was setting in. I could almost hear the heavy sighs of the lonely havelis. They were waiting for their occupants to return.

What looks brilliant in the day looks sublime by the candle

The sun was about to set, and there was a golden red hue in the sky. The gentle breeze was soothing and I felt that I had been travelling through the ages . As soon as the sun set , the village looked different. It seemed we had travelled back in time. It was so peaceful, and so different from the city life.The silence was broken only by the high-pitched calls of peacocks.There were a few dimly lit small shops here and there. Elderly men sat huddled engaged in animated conversations. 

The air was so pure. I now realised the air that I had always breathed in the city, had a foul stench. Everything felt so unadulterated .I now realised that I had exhausted myself in all these years. 

I looked at the village once more. It looked so pleasant,with dimly lit houses and the sky full of stars. I wondered why I didnt have a haveli there.