尼莉瑪·瓦倫吉（Neelima Vallangi）
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大富之家的舊居
在拉賈斯坦邦（Rajasthan）滿目荒涼的塔爾大沙漠（Thar Desert），有被人遺忘的沙卡瓦蒂（Shekhawati）地區，這裡曾幾何時，是不折不扣的印度億萬富翁的家園。今天，許多億萬富翁的豪宅都已破敗不堪，褪色的壁畫是這裡逝去輝煌的惟一印記。
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置身於塵土飛揚、五光十色的小城鎮
沙卡瓦蒂地區的城鎮和村莊是世界上華麗壁畫最為集中的地方，這裡的豪宅中布滿了各色壁畫。為避免這些曾經的豪宅遭受崩潰的厄運，沙卡瓦蒂兩個區都已明令禁止將豪宅出售給任何會破壞其歷史原貌的人。這樣做的目的是通過採取各種措施，保護和推廣沙卡瓦蒂的旅遊目的地地位。
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商業的成功崛起
15 世紀末期，在拉其普特人酋長沙卡瓦蒂的領導下，沙卡瓦蒂地區一度極大繁榮，但到了 19 世紀卻逐漸沒落。該地區通過減稅吸引商人，周邊商業中心齋浦爾（Jaipur）和比卡內爾（Bikaner）的商隊也紛紛來此做生意。印度以崇尚貿易而聞名的民族——馬爾瓦爾人（Marwari）和班尼亞（Bania）商人從周邊城市移居沙卡瓦蒂，依靠繁榮的鴉片、棉花和香料貿易，他們積累了大量的財富。到了 19 世紀末，簡樸的商人住宅開始逐漸被豪宅所取代。
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財富與藝術的融合
1820 年代，商隊貿易開始轉向海上貿易和鐵路貿易，拉賈斯坦邦作為貿易中心的地位日趨衰落。而沙卡瓦蒂富於進取的商人則紛紛前往印度沿海新興港口城市孟買和加爾各答追逐財富，他們賺來的巨額金錢又被寄回沙卡瓦蒂的家，於是，這裡豪宅中獨特的壁畫成為他們財富的奢華寫照。
眾多庭院和精緻的設計
大多數豪宅都有類似的建築風格：通常為兩層建築，帶有 2-4 個矩形布局的開放式庭院。各庭院和不同的房間都有專門的用途。進入豪宅後的第一個院子供男人們談生意用，第二個院子則歸女人們使用，另外兩個院子用於烹飪和飼養家畜。商人們千方百計要讓自己的豪宅別具一格，於是，就有了華麗的木雕入口、氣派的鏡子工程和著力體現與眾不同特色的典型代表——各種描繪日常生活和神話故事的招搖的繪畫作品。
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壁畫裝飾遍布
受到 17 世紀阿米爾堡（Amer Fort）齋浦爾的拉其普特人君王所引入的赭色壁畫的啟發，商人們在自己豪宅的牆壁上布置了錯綜複雜的壁畫，從外牆、內牆到天花板，拱門和屋檐下也無一例外。壁畫內容包括古代印度史詩《摩訶婆羅多》和《羅摩衍那》所描繪的景象，還有大量裝飾花卉設計和圖案，這些內容都是 19 世紀壁畫最常見的主題。
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五光十色
最初，畫家都要從齋蒲爾請來，但注意到人們對壁畫的興趣日漸濃厚，沙卡瓦蒂的陶藝工們也開始學習這種手藝，並在不同村子形成了迥然各異的風格。至於壁畫設計是完全由藝術家們自行決定，還是主人對他們圖案和虛構場景的選擇都有特定的要求，具體情況就不得而知了。
在 19 世紀中葉之前，紅色、栗色、靛藍、天青石色、銅藍等傳統礦物和植物顏料占據主導，據說還有用牛尿製成的明黃色顏料。從 1860 年代開始，合成顏料得到應用，它們不僅價格低廉，而且還有大量新顏色可供選擇。
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神話和現代集於一身
到了 20 世紀初，壁畫開始受到歐洲和現代化進步的影響，這也反映了時常旅行的商人們在大城市的所見所聞。某些罕見情況下，畫家們還被派往實地觀察，便於他們能複製所看到的場景在傳統的壁畫圖案中，包括伊莉莎白女王、耶穌基督、天使、蒸汽機和留聲機，還有神話與現代發明的怪誕混合創意，如坐在小轎車中的印度教諸神的圖片。
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遭到廢棄
沙卡瓦蒂的豪宅和壁畫風靡一時，但到 20 世紀初開始衰落，因為富有的商業大亨紛紛離開這個沙漠荒地，前往孟買、加爾各答等大都市乃至國外尋找更好的發展機會。當貿易活動轉往他處後，沙卡瓦蒂乾旱地區的發展就幾乎停滯，這裡的豪宅也遭到廢棄。
今天印度乃至全球商界一些響噹噹的名字，包括鋼鐵大王拉克希米·米塔爾（Laxmi Mittal）、埃迪亞貝拉集團（Aditya Birla Group）的庫瑪·貝拉（Kumar Birla）、製藥業億萬富翁阿傑伊·皮拉馬爾（Ajay Piramal）和尼泊爾惟一的億萬富翁比諾德·K·喬杜里（Binod K Chaudhary），當年都是從沙卡瓦蒂發跡的。實際上，據福布斯數據，幾乎 25% 的印度 100 強都源自沙卡瓦蒂。
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維護費用高昂
到了1950 年代，曾經孕育了這些億萬富翁的繁榮城鎮日趨陷入絕望的衰退之中。出售和是整修這些鄉間別墅成為一項艱巨的任務。其中有的別墅能同時容納 50 戶家庭居住。豪宅維護費用高昂，其中有很多通常由多個繼承人所有，還陷入法律糾紛。由於這些宅邸屬私人所有，政府也無法投入太多保護工作。
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沙卡瓦蒂豪宅迎來新生
幸運的是，這些美麗而富有文化意義的五光十色的豪宅不會被所有人遺忘。1999 年，法國藝術家那丁·勒·皮里斯（Nadine Le Prince）購買了建於 1802 的豪宅「Nand Lal Devra Haveli」（現在稱為那丁·勒·皮里斯文化中心），並煞費苦心地重現了它當年在法特普爾城（Fatehpur）的奢華。在鄰近小城 Dunlod 和 Nawalgarh，Seth Arjun Das Goenka Haveli 和 ShriJairamDasjiMorarka 家族的豪宅也得到修復，變身博物館供公眾參觀。還有幾個曾經的豪宅也變成博物館，星羅棋布地分散在沙卡瓦蒂內陸地區，其中，像 MaljikaKamra、KoolwalKothi 和 Castle Mandawa 等宅邸，還被改造為傳統酒店。
While most of Shekhawati’s havelis have crumbled and remain abandoned, a small window into the world of these painted mansions is being preserved.
By Neelima Vallangi
(Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
A former home of opulence
Forgotten in the barren landscapes of Rajasthan’s Thar Desert, the Shekhawati region was once home to the unabashed opulence of India’s billionaires. Today, many of the billionaires』 grand havelis(mansions) are crumbling – the fading frescoes marking the only vestiges of the area’s vanished glory. (Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
(Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
Drenching the dusty towns in colour
With paintings covering nearly every inch of the grand havelis, the towns and villages of Shekhawati encompass the world’s largest concentration of magnificent frescoes in a single region. To protect these once grand estates from crumbling further, two districts within Shekhawati have banned the sale of the havelis to anyone who could harm their heritage look. Their aim is to conserve and promote Shekhawati as a tourist destination. (Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
(Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
The rise of merchant success
Founded by the eponymous Rajput chieftain Rao Shekha in the late 15th Century, Shekhawati prospered immensely at the turn of the 19th Century. The region reduced taxes to lure merchants and diverted all caravan trade from the nearby commercial centres of Jaipur and Bikaner. Merchants belonging to the Marwari and Bania community, a renowned ethnic trading group in India, moved into Shekhawati from the surrounding towns, and amassed great wealth through a flourishing trade in opium, cotton and spices. Modest merchant homes started giving way to grand mansions by the end of the 19th Century. (Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
(Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
Where wealth melds with artistic expression
When trade moved from caravan routes to sea routes and railways in the 1820s, Rajasthan’s trade centres were on a steady decline. However, the enterprising merchants of Shekhawati followed the money trail and moved to the fledgling port towns of Bombay and Calcutta on the Indian coast, sending back enormous amounts of money to their homes in Shekhawati and thus heralding an era of uniquely painted havelis that acted as lavish displays of wealth. (Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
Many courtyards and elaborate designs
Most Havelis were built in a similar architectural style – usually two storied buildings with two to four open courtyards arranged within a rectangular block. Each courtyard and the corresponding rooms were designated for specific purposes. The first courtyard after entering the house was for men and their business dealings, the second was for women and the other two were for cooking and animal stables. But the merchants left no stone unturned in giving their mansions a distinct look, with ornately carved wooden entrances, pompous mirror work and the defining differentiator: ostentatious paintings depicting daily life and mythology. (Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
(Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
Frescoes adorn every surface
Inspired by the 17th-century ochre frescoes introduced by the Rajput kings of Jaipur in Amer Fort, the merchants commissioned intricate paintings on every inch of the mansion walls – including exteriors, interiors, ceilings and even the spaces under the arches and eaves. Scenes from the ancient Hindu epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana – along with plenty of decorative floral designs and patterns – were the most common motifs featured in the frescoes for a large part of the 19th Century. (Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
(Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
A wide range of colours
Painters were first commissioned from the city of Jaipur, but after noticing a rising interest in frescoes, members from the potter community in Shekhawati started learning the craft and created a proliferation of distinct styles across different villages. It is not entirely clear if the artists had full reign over the designs or if they were given specific instructions in choosing patterns and mythological scenes.
Before the mid-19th Century, traditional pigments made from minerals and vegetables dominated the colour palette, with intense shades of reds, maroons, indigo, lapis lazuli and copper blue along with bright yellow supposedly made out cow’s urine. Starting 1860s, synthetic pigments came into use, which were cheaper and offered a wide range of new colours. (Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
(Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
Mixing myth and the modern
By the early 20th Century, the frescoes began depicting European influences and modern advancements – recollections from what the well-travelled merchants had seen in the big cities. In some rare cases, the painters were sent to observe and recreate the scenes. Among the traditional motifs, there are frescoes of Queen Elizabeth, Jesus, cherubs, steam engines and gramophones, as well as whacky creations mixing mythology with modern inventions, such as Hindu gods in chauffeur-driven cars (pictured). (Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
(Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
Abandoned for good
The havelis and frescoes of Shekhawati blossomed until the early 20th Century; after which, the rich business tycoons left the desert wasteland for better opportunities in bustling metropolises like Bombay and Calcutta and even abroad. After the trade moved elsewhere, there was little development in the arid lands of Shekhawati, and the havelis were abandoned for good.
Some of the biggest names in the Indian and global business scene today – including the likes of the steel baron Laxmi Mittal, Kumar Birla of Aditya Birla Group, pharmaceutical billionaire Ajay Piramaland Nepal’s only billionaire, Binod K Chaudhary, had their origins in the villages of Shekhawati. In fact, according to Forbes, almost 25% of India’s 100 richest were from Shekhawati. (Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
(Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
The high cost of upkeep
By the 1950s, the thriving towns that had raised these billionaires were falling into steady despair. Selling or renovating these rural family bungalows – some of which could house up to 50 families at once – is a difficult job. The cost of upkeep is high and many of the properties, usually shared between multiple heirs, are embroiled in legal disputes. But since havelis are private properties, the government cannot do much to preserve them. (Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
(Credit: Neelima Vallangi)
A new life for the Shekhawati mansions
Luckily, the beauty and cultural significance of these painted havelis is not lost on everyone. In 1999, French artist Nadine Le Prince bought the 1802-built Nand Lal Devra Haveli (now called Nadine Le Prince Cultural Centre) and painstakingly restored it to its former glory in the town of Fatehpur. In the neighbouring towns of Dunlod and Nawalgarh, Seth Arjun Das Goenka Haveli and Shri Jairam Dasji Morarka’s family mansions have also been restored and turned into museums for public viewings. A few other havelis-turned-museums are scattered in the hinterlands of Shekhawati, and some like Malji ka Kamra, Koolwal Kothi and Castle Mandawa have been turned into heritage hotels.
While some of the havelis may crumble and fall apart – their glory lives on in others. (Credit: Neelima Vallangi)