Nawalgarh: City of Hawali's

Painting done on a wall, inside of Poddar Hawali

“I was taking position with my camera in my hand to capture a snap of an old building in a very narrow market street. I was with Surbhi (my cousin’s friend); and she was also gazing on the same building at that time. All of the sudden a cattle vehicle ran over my foot and the whole street became dusty. I dint understand what happened… as I was busy taking photographs of that building. Next moment I stepped backward and I looked towards Surbhi, expecting that she will tell me what happened, but there was no reaction on her face and then she started laughing… I realized then, what had actually happened, my foot was so close to the vehicle that I just escaped an accident. I was wondering, “Why did Surabhi not warn me about this?” She said, “She was also admiring the building when the whole incident happened, it was so quick that she dint get enough time to warn me about the approaching cattle cart”. God Graciously!!! I nearly escaped an accident, lucky me ….. Unfortunately I lost my sunglasses which were on my forehead…”

Careless travelling gives that kind of thrill which we cannot get from any other way…it’s full of fun, happiness and at the end it gives you peace of mind and also a kind of satisfaction which we cannot express in our words!!! My trip to Nawalgarh was full of careless traveling…

Close view of painting done wall of a Hawali

Nawalgarh is famous for its magnificent traditional Bungalow’s, traditionally known as Hawali’s. The specialty of these buildings is Fresco paintings done on the walls, main gates, windows and inside these buildings. These Hawali’s are also famous for their unique architecture and stunning main entrance. It was my first experience to see such a beautiful heritage site in the rural Rajasthan. Nawalgarh is 141 km away from Jaipur i.e. around 3:30 hours journey. It is located in Jhunjhunu District of Rajasthan State which is famous part of Shekhawati region. Nawalgarh is also the motherland of some of the great business families of India like – Poddar, Birla, Bajaj, Godrej etc.

I was there to attend a very special occasion, “The Wedding Ceremony” of my elder cousin, Abhinav Sharma. I accompanied my Mother and brother Shekhar on this auspicious occasion. We stayed at a local dharamshala (a Hindu Society Lounge) which had about 25 rooms with basic facilities. Before the wedding day, some of us planned to visit the Heritage Sites in the city. So, the next morning along with other cousins, Munna Mamaji and Surbhi didi I set forth to explore the city.

Every Hawali in Nawalgarh has its own dignity and status in the society. Their stories of glory and success are famous and narrated by old family members and locals. The fresco paintings on their walls signify their family’s culture, background, customs, values and beliefs. This is clearly visible in every painting done on the walls of these old buildings.

There are many old Temples, Gateways, a School and even a college located in the city and on every wall of these buildings fresco paintings are done in very details like – painting of old emperor’s, Hindu God’s, festivals, special occasions, mythological stories and many more. All these paintings reflect art & craft culture of the city. This means that Nawalgarh people not only built their houses for living but they also gave equal importance to their art & history by paintings them on their walls. It seemed as if some owners of these building gave full freedom to the artistes to paint the walls to the artistes’ contentment. I felt so because in some building I saw paintings of motor car, an English man driving bicycle, trains, vintage cars, British arms, elephants, horses and many such imaginary things.

These buildings not only consist of painting, but all these building also have state of art architecture inside. It is very much visible on the main entrance of the houses, like specially designed main doors, pillars, windows (Jhorakha) and many such things. Truly Nawalgarh is city of Hawali’s, I was stunned and amazed by experiencing beautifully painted old buildings, temples, which are present in every part of the city, and we just walked, walked and walked in the whole city and enjoyed a lot watching these beautiful Hawali’s. Nawalgarh is a must visit destination of Rajasthan...and don’t forget to bring your camera.

THE HISTORY OF NAWALGARH

 Thakur Nawal Singh Ji Bahadur (Shekhawat) founded Nawalgarh in 1737 AD at the village site of Rohili, before abolition of Jagirs in Rajasthan. Many great business families of Marwari community have their origins from Nawalgarh. Nawalgarh was encircled by the high Parkota (walls) consisting of four Polls (gates) in different directions, namely Agoona Darwaja (entrance gate), Bawadi Darwaja (in north), Mandi Darwaja and Nansa Darwaja. Each gate is very heavy as they are built from iron. There is also a fort build in the city called “Bala Kila Fort” which is situated in the center of the Thikana, another fort i.e. Fatehgarh Fort is situated outside the Parkota as an Outpost. The market place of the town and layout of the havelis indicate that the original city was well-planned before construction. Nawalgarh was considered to be the most modern towns of Shekhawati region.

GETTING TO NAWALGARH:

Nawalgarh is well connected by road and also through Meter gauge railway line. But the best option to visit the city is by road. Its distance from Jaipur is 141km which is around 3:30 hrs and from Delhi its distance is 260km which is around 5hrs journey from taxi.

By Train: There is a direct train from Jaipur to Nawalgarh which is 3-4hrs journey. Since these trains has no pre-reservation system, so it’s not advisable to go by trains as these trains are hugely crowed with peoples and there is also a chance of delay.

By Road: It is the best option to reach the city as several taxi services are available from all major cities like - Jaipur, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, New Delhi, Agra, Alwar, Udaipur and Jodhpur etc. There are frequent daily bus services also available from Jaipur Sindhi Camp bus stand (Jaipur bus terminal) to Nawalgarh. Bus services are also available from all other major cities of Rajasthan like – Ajmer, Kota, Bikaner, Jodhpur and even Delhi.

By Air: There is no Air-port at Nawalgarh as it is a small town, the nearest Air port is located is Jaipur.

MUST SEE: Forts and Hawali’s: Anandi Lal Poddar Hawali, Nawalgarh Fort (Bala Kila Fort) and Fatehgar Fort, Roop Niwas Palace (1km from Bala Kila fort), Sheesh Mahal, Murarka Haveli, Bansidhar Bhagat Haveli and Chokhani Haveli.

Temples: Lakshmi Narayan Mandir (Built by Thakur Udai Singh in 1869 V.S.), Shri Gopinath Ji Mandir (Built by Thakur Nawal Singh), Shri Kalyan Ji Mandir, Gangamai Temple, Shri Ramdev Ji Mandir and many more.

EAT: There are several sweet shops located in the city where one can find snacks items like - Dal ki Kachori, Samosa, Pakoda’s etc. But Nawalgarh is famous for its one of a sweetest dish know as “KHEER-MOHAN”, it’s a kind of Rasgulla (famous bangali dish) but not white, its color is brown which means it is more cooked then rasgulla and it is more tight and trust me, it’s very-very sweet.

Personally I have not visited any restaurant in the city and I even doubt that there is any in the city, although there are few dhabh’s is the city to burn your hunger. There are few good hotels, they may serve for outsiders.

STAY: There are very few hotels in Nawalgarh and several times at peak tourist’s seasons, visitors have to compensate by arranging their stay in another cities hotels like at - Jhunjhunu, Mandawa or Sikar.  


Stay At Nawalgarh - Heritage Thikana, Club Mahindra Roop Vilas Palace, Welcome Heritage Koolwal Kothi and Nalagarh Resort are few good and decent say places at Nawlagarh.

At Jhunjhunu - Dundlod Fort, (8km from Jhunjhunu), Grand Haweli & Resort, Jhunjhunu, Hotel Shekhawati (Mandawa), Hotel Fresco Palace (Jhunjhunu), Hotel Heritage Mandawa, The Desert Resort (Mandawa) and Hotel Castle Mandawa are few options if you won’t find any rooms in Nawalgarh city.

Apart from these hotels, one can also stay at Dharmshals (Society Longue) but somebody has to recommend you (local repute person/family) as they don’t allow any strangers.


Written by Apurv
Edited by Surbhi Seth