Havelis of Bikaner

Colour. More colours. Still more colours. That is Rajasthan. Most colourful state in India. Rajasthan is famous for deserts, camels, forts, Havelis and handicrafts. Rajasthan also has many native musical instruments which cannot be seen anywhere else. On the whole I consider them very artistic people.

As I said before Rajasthan is a place of colour. Everything in Rajasthan is very colourful. The turban, the dress of ladies, the way camels are decorated everything is very colourful. Probably they have the greatest natural colour in their deserts and in fact everywhere you see in Rajasthan – Light brown – the colour of the sand. Any colour looks stunning in this background.

Bikaner, a small town in Rajasthan, is very famous for Havelis. Haveli is a Hindi word which means mansion. These are beautiful residences built very artistically. You can call it a marvel in home architecture! Today they occupy a pride of place in every person of Bikaner. The beauty of this is that even today they are very well preserved! Havelis can be found in many places in Rajasthan. Such Havelis are not seen anywhere in the world. During my recent visit to Bikaner, I made it a point to visit them and took some pictures.

Havelis are situated in the narrow lanes of old city of Bikaner. They are built with red stones and they stand magnificently even today! Originally these Havelis were the residence of wealthy merchants of Rajasthan who had a fancy for beauty and art. Havelis were the symbol of their wealth and status and their love for architecture and colours! They say happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.

It is said that these merchants, for major part of the year stayed in far off lands where they went to earn money. These Havelis used to be their place of leisure and relaxation! The oldest Haveli in Bikaner is considered to be around 400 years old while most of them are more than 100 years old. It is amazing to note that even after seeing more than hundred years they are still looking gorgeous!

Every Haveli consists of many small and big rooms which were built for special purpose. Most beautiful part of the Haveli is the Mol or mahal. It is decorated with beautiful gold carvings, which was considered as a symbol of status! What richness! Most interesting information of this Mol – It is here the dancing girls used to give their performance during parties! What an ambience for these girls to dance!!!      
 

Generally all Havelis have a similar pattern. They have Jharokhas or casements; elaborate entrance, latticed windows, divankhanas, Gumaharias or basements giving them a most exotic look. The exterior of the Havelis are dominated by Jharokhas which provides the Havelis with a most beautiful look!         
 
These are exquisite carvings and render an amazing look to the Havelis. Leaves and flowers decorate every Jharokha giving it an astonishing and pleasant effect. Also Jali or stones with small hole can be quite frequently seen in Havelis. They add beauty to the entire structure. Most of the Havelis have a second story also.
 

One needs to carry a wide angle lens to capture the complete beauty of these Havelis, as they are all situated in the narrow lanes of Bikaner.

 

In every haveli the dankhana is the most decorated room and most prestigious too. The guests were received here. It is significant to mention that every haveli has two dankhanas - One for men and another for women and these are situated at the main entrance of the haveli.

Aldous Huxley a famous English writer who visited these havelis reported to have remarked “They are the pride of Bikaner”. The most famous cluster of havelies is the Rampuria Group of Havelies. These havelis are built by Balujee Chalva under instructions from Rampuria family. Rampuria havelis are many in number and are big in size. They are located at nearly adjacent to each other giving an imposing view.

 

 

 

The interior scheme of decoration of these havelies is very different. The Rampuria havelies are built of dulmera stone, which are red in color. Exquisite and minute carvings come naturally to the havelis’s stones. The Rampuria havelies are decorated with golden work of the highest quality. Another interesting feature is that Rampuria havelies have diverse exterior and each haveli has a pattern of its own.

 

Although this post is about the Havelis of Bikaner, I cannot end it without mentioning about the hospitality of Rajasthanis! They are polite, soft spoken and extend wonderful hospitality. Generally it is a cool place! (Don’t make a mistake; I am not referring to the temperature here!) You get good vegetarian food there, as most of the Rajansthanis are vegetarians.

I was thrilled when I ordered dhal fry in Bikaner. Why? The waiter asked me if he can add onion and garlic in my dhal fry. I was very happy of this, as in most places they add garlic automatically and spoil my lunch/dinner. But Bikaner is different! It’s a wonderful place.