Hotel Mandawa Haveli.

We chose Hotel Mandawa Haveli, a haveli built in the 18th century by a wealthy Marwari jeweller for our stay at Mandawa, Shekhawati, Rajasthan during our winter break.

Soaking up the winter sun in the outer courtyard of the haveli.

Entrance to the haveli.

The outer walls of the haveli framed by flowering trees.

The haveli has been restored and converted into a hotel by Dinesh Dhabhai. There are beautiful frescos painted all over the haveli and especially in the inner courtyard. The theme is of Lord Krishna and scenes from his life.

The inner courtyard being spruced up for the Christmas Eve celebrations...

The intricate rangoli design painted by a local grandmother & grand-daughter team...

The original intricately carved Rajasthani doors have been restored.

Lovely antique furniture line the courtyard.

The rooms have been named after the various names of Lord Krishna.

We stayed in 'Rasesh':-)

The inner view of the room.

The stunning view of the courtyard all lit up for Christmas eve and the melody of Rajasthani folk music just took our breathe away!

The friendly turbaned gate-keeper at the Mandawa Haveli:-)

Do stay at a restored haveli, when you visit Shekhawati to truly experience the local flavor of the region:-)

(images by Arch)

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Havelis of Shekhawati, Rajasthan.

The Sonthaliya Gate, Mandawa.

When we decided on our winter vacation destination as Rajasthan, we immediately knew it had to be in the lesser explored regions of Shekhawati. Shekhawati region is known for their heritage Havelis.

Haveli- Is a huge private mansion in India or Pakistan.

The Rajasthani havelis were constructed by the wealthy Marwari community in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan in the 19th century. A haveli typically has two courtyards one for the men and the inner one for the women, the walls were adorned with beautiful colourful frescoes painted by commissioned artists.

The themes were usually images of Gods, Goddesses & animals.

Mandawa, Ramgarh, Fatehpur are dusty little towns in the Shekhawati area that have many old havelis, which in their glorious days would have been a treat to the eyes, but even today have not lost their timeless beauty.

The huge old havelis in Mandawa.

A handful of these havelis are being restored and given a new lease of life by private organizations, historians & architects. Some of them have been converted into heritage hotels.

Nadine Le Prince is a french artist whose love for Indian cultural heritage has inspired her to restore a haveli built in 1802 by a rich tradesman of the silk road.

Beautifully restored courtyard at Nadine Le Prince Haveli Cultural Centre, Fatehpur.

Ramgarh Fresco, a restored haveli, earlier known as the Khemka Haveli is 100-years old and has been renovated by the Khandelwal family who wanted to showcase the beauty of the frescos and the architecture to the visitors.

Amazing hand-painted frescos at Hotel Ramgarh Fresco

We had a lovely thali lunch here:-)

The traditional haveli courtyard.

In my next post, will showcase another restored haveli~ A lovely place where we stayed, soaked in the winter sun and listened to the folk music of the desert...:-)

( Images by Arch)

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Beautifully Subtle...

Sanganer is a place in Rajasthan that is famous for it's traditional hand block printing. Sanganeri prints usually consists of floral motifs and the colours used are natural dyes derived from Turmeric, Indigo plants, banana leaves and so on.
The colours are usually bright & vibrant which is synonymous with the colourful Rajasthan, hence it was a pleasant surprise when I saw these prints in subdued and in single colour in the Toast Catalogue Online. Check out their Quilts, Blankets & Throws in subtle colours. They have some lovely pillow and cushion covers too.

( images from Toast Catalogue)

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Lake Palace Hotel, Udaipur...

...where beauty, grandeur and royalty come together to give you the ultimate luxurious experience. The Lake Palace at Udaipur is a 250 years old marble palace built on 4 acres of natural rock in Lake Pichola. It gives an impression of floating on the placid water of the lake. The hotel is reached by boat from the shores of Lake Pichola.
The palace was built in 1746 by Maharana Jagat Singh, successor to the royal dynasty of Mewar. It has the beautiful Aravalli mountains on one side and palaces on the other side of the lake. The swimming pool

The Palace Hotel has many Luxury Rooms, Royal Suites, Palace Rooms each decorated in traditional royal style.

View of the lake from the Jaltarang Suite Bedroom

Khushmahal Suite Bedroom with antique brass swingCarved elephants in the Chandraprakash Suite Bedroom.

Princely Suite private sit-out facing the lake.Dine on a romantic Pontoon or one of their amazing restaurants...
Exquisite paintings of Gods & Goddesses in one of their bedrooms.Finally a vintage car drop to the airport a finale' to your royal experience.

(images from tajhotels.com, scottdunn)

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