Mandawa

The city of Mandawa was once a city inhabited by rich merchant families. The rich and dominant merchants built massive havelis and decorated them with beautiful murals.
However, after a while the merchants moved to other areas. Therefore the beautiful havelis were left abandoned. Yet that has not affected the beauty of this havelis.
Now they are a major tourist attraction.

The beautiful murals on Mandawa’s havelis in Rajasthan, changed from time to time. In the earlier days, the themes of the frescoes were mythological, local legends, animals, portraits, hunting and wrestling dominated, etc.
In the 19th century the British influence reflected on the Indian frescoes.
English men in hunting robes, portraits of impeccably dressed haveli owners, cars, trains, balloons, telephones, and gramophones replaced the traditional subjects on the walls.