Fully Fed Up in Shekhawati

An otherwise regular Rajasthan scenery — camels, women in ghaghras and colourful chunris of warm reds and oranges, sparse scrub and grass landscapes — is snatched from the jaws of the mundane by facades and outer walls of havelis laden with the most exquisite frescos. Some fading, others defaced and yet others that enjoy protection from human and natural elements of degeneration, tucked away between brackets that hold up windows and balconies.

The themes reflect the imagination of the time — secular and contemporary: Hindu gods and goddesses, Angrezi saabs and mems, sepoys, angels, cherubs, railway trains and get this, images of Jesus Christ and Mother Mary with the Holy Child. And this is just the outside walls of the havelis; the interiors are a maze of imagery in the most amazing organic dyes.

However, strolling around and discovering havelis will be an overwhelming experience (after all, there is so much to see). Not to worry, though, Shekhawati now has just the thing to wash down this visual feast.

Step down from the havelis and breathe in the farm experience. Farm tourism, a first in India, is now available in the region, for those who wish to absorb the other side of life in Shekhawati. An overnight stay at Mansukh Farm, Navalgarh, arranged by the Morarka Rural Research Foundation in collaboration with the Roop Nivas Palace Hotel, Navalgarh, promises to be the icing on the cake. The package is priced at Rs 1,700 per head, inclusive of travel, meals, camping and camel rides.

Day one of the tour begins with departure from Jaipur post-lunch; arrival at ‘‘camel point’’ around 5 pm; option of a camel ride to Mansukh farm; check in at the camp and allocation of tents at sunset (each tent has a telephone connection); campfire, music and dance followed by an organic farm dinner (watch out for the food, it is finger-licking good and you are bound to overeat); night stay in tent.

Day two begins with morning bed tea (yes, it is too spoilt to be true, but after the previous evening’s camel ride, it will be just the thing you need); camel rides to farms, villages, vantage points through desert tracks; breakfast at camp site (you will be glad this comes after the camel jaunt); jeep safari including visits to havelis; authentic organic Marwari lunch at the Morarka Haveli Museum (this will be when you may totally ignore your calorie alert and pile up your thali, which is not too bad an idea, if you will) and post this sumptuous, filling lunch, departure to Jaipur.

In all of this, you may be weighed down by the food, which is so refreshing — the vegetables are organically grown and freshly plucked — that it is difficult to resist seconds and thirds. At the farm, large dollops of freshly churned butter will find their way onto your bajre ki roti and you are unlikely to say ‘no’. The hospitality of the good hosts at the farm is not yet jaded and so the first dollop is never the last, may you be warned. The traditional Marwari platter at the next day’s lunch is enormous — you will be spoilt for choice. Several kinds of pickles, savouries, chanch and kanji line beginning of the long buffet table. Dal-bati-churma, gaththe ki sabzi, kair-sangdi, muli ki sabzi, dum aloo, aloo gobi and several chutnies follow in the spread. Several kinds of papads, badam ka halwa and imarti-rabri and such like finish the elaborate lay-out. What might help is a last helping of chanch or kanji or both — they are supposed to be digestives or at least you will be desperately hoping that they are by the time you get to them again (they are also had at the beginning of the meal as appetisers).

An absolute must is the gowarphali chips, fried gowarphali beans which have been soaked in chanch and sun-dried — you wont find this anywhere else. Also, try the Raabri, which is not a sweet milk product, but an appetiser drink made of boiled maize flour, slightly fermented in chanch.

In case you want to forgo this vegetarian spread to beat all non-vegetarian feasts, there is always the Mukandgarh Fort, a heritage hotel, which is the Shekhawati haunt for those who need their alcohol and meat.

For those who are already in Shekhawati, it is just as easy to experience the overnight farm tour. If overnight is not an option, the organisers can arrange for day trips to farms as well. For those who wish to break away from the haveli-to-farm routine, the Roop Nivas Palace hotel arranges for horse safaris.

Not that it ever needs to, Shekhawati can now boast of more than just its frescoes.

Sunday Express travelled courtesy M R Morarka GDC Rural Research Foundation, Mumbai