Monday, January 2, 2012

Castle Mandwa, Shekhawati

Castle Mandwa at Mandwa in the Shekhawati Region was build in 1755 by Thakur Nawal singh, a descendant of Rao Shekha, the founder of Shekhawati. In those days this was fortress and now it is converted into a luxury hotel.



Two imposing gateways lead to the central courtyard where cannons stand as a reminder of the past when they were used to repel the enemy.



The palace in the fort hosts beautiful fresco paintings. Mostly vegetable pigments were used for coloring. Some of the main ingredients are kajal for black, lime for white, neel for blue, geru for red, kesar for orange, yellow clay for yellow. Family portraits, antique cannons and arms add to the charm of this palace.

51 comments:

Sridharan said...

Imposing structure ..Colorful interiors are inviting..

Kavita Saharia said...

Wonderful post .The second picture is gorgeous.
Wish you and yours A Happy New Year ,Rajesh .

Dinah said...

A hotel filled with history, super nice! :-)
Year of the Dragon

Kay L. Davies said...

The second photo is exquisite, Rajesh!

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel

Teamgsquare said...

Nice to know about this place .

Kim, USA said...

Amazing structure. Happy New Year!

Museum

Dianne ... Walking In His Grace said...

Happy New Year. :)

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Marvelous shot.

Redefining Oblivion wishes you a Very Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Purposeful 2012, and beyond.

Luna Miranda said...

an impressive fortress. it must quite an experience to stay in this hotel.

joo said...

Beautiful palace!
happy new Year to you and your family:)

Al said...

Extraordinary! My city is so new, there's nothing more than a few decades old in it.

Unknown said...

Another great post!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Sylvia K said...

What a beautiful, amazing place, Rajesh! I do love the fresco paintings! Amazing! Great look at your world for the new year!

Sylvia

Zuzana said...

What an interesting post, I really enjoyed learning what is the natural source for the different colours.;))
Happy New Year, may 2012 be a prosperous one for you and yours.;)
xoxo

Carver said...

Very beautiful place inside and out. Happy New Year.

Arija said...

A lovely fort and palace. Great to see the interior and thank you for the information on the paints used. From the photo alone, it looked like intricate tile work.

A wonderful New Year to you with many more pictures of the historical wonders of your country!

Indrani said...

Thanks for these sights.

Martha Z said...

The charming interior is a surprise, the exterior looks so run down.

VaishVijay said...

Colorful work around the photographs is awesome!

Liz said...

Beautiful photos. Have a fabulous week.

Liz @ MLC
Liz @ MCN

alicesg said...

Very beautiful designs and nice to learn they use vegetable pigments for colouring. Happy New Year to you and your family, may 2012 be a better year for all of us. :)

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Yes, the interiors look very interesting though the outside has a worn down look, thanks to loss of colour!

Anonymous said...

Wow - what a fabulous, ornate interior!

P.N. Subramanian said...

Berautiful. Shekhawati is a very important area. All Shekhawats are from that region. A very happy New Year to you and your family.

My Unfinished Life said...

shekhawati is called open air art gallery...i have been wanting to visit this region for long time...lets see when it happens!!

http://sushmita-smile.blogspot.com/

eileeninmd said...

Gorgeous buildings and the paintings in the room are amazing. Thanks for sharing.

Reader Wil said...

Very beautiful, Rajesh! Thanks for all the beautiful buildings of your great country, you showed us. May this new year bring you fortune and above all happiness!

Jessica said...

what a beautiful castle :-) great walls pictures too :-) Visiting from Mellow Yellow Monday, hope that you can return the visit too.

http://www.mommies2ks.com/2012/01/a-gift-card-for-my-kids-school-bus-driver.html

amit ganguly said...

This is an awesome post indeed.Great clicks too.Keep up your good work.

anthonynorth said...

That's quite a conversion.

Roger Owen Green said...

a yard that has a worn beauty.
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Leslie: said...

Quite a contrast between the outside and inside. Happy New Year,

Leslie
abcw team

radha said...

Lovely. Never heard of this place before.

Maude Lynn said...

How beautiful!

Leovi said...

Nice pictures. A beautiful castle.

photowannabe said...

Very imposing on the outside but so delicate and beautiful on the inside. Great post for Y.

genie said...

I adore all of the temples and other structures you have shared with us this year, but this one is something new and awesome. Loved learning about the use of vegetable pigments for the colors. What a might fortress this was and continues to be even if it is a fancy hotel. My, would I love staying there for a night....$$$$$$$! Great post this week. genie

Eden said...

What a beautiful place to visit! Beautiful shots.

Lowell said...

A wondrous and magnificent palace. Your commentary on the vegetable pigments used for paints was very interesting and new to me. Seems I always learn something visiting your blog!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Beautiful and the use of the vegetable pigments is so interesting -- I am glad you listed them. It is lovely to think about how those natural materials can be used to make such remarkable art.

Joy said...

A much better use now there are no enemies to repel. I'd love to stay there, even if only to see all the frescos (such an interesting process).

Urmi said...

Wish you and your family a very Happy New Year.
You are welcome at my new posts-
http://urmi-z-unique.blogspot.com
http://amazing-shot.blogspot.com
Absolutely gorgeous pictures. I liked the second picture very much.

sappy said...

As usual,a great place and great photos.

Leah H. said...

Beautiful, lovely photos..

Visiting for MYM!!! Here's my share- hope you can stop by:)

http://www.loveablecassandra.com/2011/12/little-artist-in-the-making.html

Rajesh said...

Thanks for all the appreciation.

Many such palaces are converted into heritage hotels or museums so that they can be maintained by respective groups.

A Homemaker's Utopia said...

Wow..Amazing place..Excellent pictures..:-)

Arti said...

Very beautiful place, love the interiors - very charming.

Panchali said...

Amazing frescos....so beautiiful :)

Unknown said...

Good set of photos.

Anonymous said...

just awesome .......

Rajesh said...

Thank you for appreciation. It is a heritage hotel now.