Char Chowk Haveli

Rajasthan


Beneath the eaves on the northern external wall of this haveli (traditional, ornately decorated residence), you’ll find a picture of a bird standing on an elephant and with another elephant in its beak. The murals in the inner courtyard are well preserved, and the walls and ceiling of a small upstairs room on the eastern side are completely covered with paintings. It has some explicit erotic images, but it’s ill-lit – the caretaker will open the room for you for some baksheesh.

In the same building, a room in the northwestern corner retains floral swirls and motifs on the ceiling with scenes from the Krishna legends interspersed with inlaid mirrors. The black-and-white rectangular designs on the lower walls create a marbled effect. The front facade is disintegrating at the lower levels, with the plaster crumbling and the bricks exposed. The southern haveli is still inhabited.


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