For most Delhi-NCR travellers, a trip to Rajasthan comes with a familiar list: Jaipur’s forts, Udaipur’s lakes and palaces, Jodhpur’s imposing Mehrangarh, and perhaps the streets of Jaisalmer, lined with its distinctive golden-yellow sandstone buildings. But there is another Rajasthan waiting to be discovered — one where you do not necessarily have to enter a grand palace to encounter history. Sometimes, all it takes is a walk down a street, a step through the doorway of a haveli, and an entire era unfolds across its walls.
This is Shekhawati. Spread across the districts of Jhunjhunu, Sikar and Churu, the region is known for its remarkable concentration of painted merchant havelis. A glimpse of this lesser-known side of Rajasthan will be on view in Delhi until September 30 at Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, through ‘Raj Se Swaraj Tak’, an exhibition by MOHAR (Museum of Heritage and Art at Ramgarh).
A world in frescoes
Towns such as Mandawa, Nawalgarh, Fatehpur, Churu and Ramgarh grew as centres of Marwari mercantile families, whose prosperity from the 19th to the early 20th century transformed them into richly painted towns. Frescoes cover facades, courtyards and interiors, turning these homes into vivid records of the world their residents inhabited.
What makes these paintings fascinating is that they are more than decoration. The walls offer a glimpse into what people were seeing, believing and encountering at the time. Alongside gods, legends and scenes from everyday life are images of rulers, British figures, new forms of transport, railways, machinery and other signs of a changing world. The outside world had entered the home, finding its place alongside traditional stories and becoming part of the visual language of the time.
This is what makes Shekhawati different from Rajasthan’s better-known palaces. The grand forts and mahals tell stories of power, wealth and the lavish lives of those who built them. The frescoes, meanwhile, offer a glimpse into how that world was experienced at home. They show what an era looked like when its people, places, beliefs and changing surroundings became part of everyday domestic life.
That larger landscape has now gained another reason for attention. In June 2026, India submitted ‘The Painted Haveli Towns of Shekhawati’ to UNESCO’s Tentative List for World Heritage recognition. The serial nomination covers historic ensembles across 14 towns, including Ramgarh, bringing together havelis, bazaars, forts, temples, water systems and other elements that form the historic townscape.
A window into Shekhawati
For those who want to understand this world before making the journey, 'Raj Se Swaraj Tak' takes visitors on 10 journeys across Shekhawati, exploring its art, architecture, beliefs, stories, lifestyles and the many influences that have shaped the region. The exhibition is curated by Dr Shruti Nada Poddar and co-curated by Dr Alka Pande.
The exhibition draws from the MOHAR collections and brings together manuscripts, telegrams, newspapers, letters, maps, oleographs, textiles, currency, games, freedom-related images and other objects, including works from the Raja Ravi Varma Collection. Together, these objects offer a glimpse into the everyday world of an era, allowing visitors to see its material culture alongside the visual world in which it existed.
As Dr Shruti Nada Poddar, curator, MOHAR, puts it, “‘Raj Se Swaraj Tak’ is a window into the lives of the people who shaped Shekhawati and the world they inhabited. Through the frescoes, objects and archival material, we are able to look beyond the beauty of the havelis and understand the ideas, influences, aspirations and changes that found their way into these homes. The exhibition brings together these different threads to offer a glimpse of how a changing India was experienced and lived in Shekhawati.”
And perhaps that is the real invitation. Discovering Shekhawati is not simply about adding another fort or palace to a Rajasthan itinerary. It is about walking through a place where history was absorbed into homes, painted onto walls and woven into everyday life. Until you make the journey yourself, ‘Raj Se Swaraj Tak’ offers a glimpse of that world in Delhi.