"Krishna was a naughty man"

A broad Mandawa smile

According to our guide, Krishna was a naughty man.

This observation was made as we walked the dusty alleys of Mandawa observing the colourful illustrations on the many havelis - homes built by the town’s rich merchants who had made it big in Bombay. Money was sent home to build a magnificent home, only to be outdone by a neighbour.  Mandawa was once a key part of the silk route and after the British came to India the merchants moved to the coast to ply their trade, investing their new wealth back to the havelis of Mandawa.

Into the battle he goes

Illustrations of costumes
and animals on the walls of a
haveli's inner courtyard 

A raiding party attacks the railway

The frescoes on the inside and outside of the havelis are a virtual outdoor art gallery - some depict the railway being guarded by the British and marauded by the locals. 


Others depict the male and female dress of the time, plants and flowers - and of course the many gods of the Hindu faith.

The havelis are several stories high and have courtyards within courtyards.  The top floor is often open to the elements and used for sleeping during the hot season when temperatures reach close to 50 degrees.  


In one of the bedrooms a pulley was evident at the shuttered window.  A fan above the bed, attached to a rope system through the pulley was activated by a punka wallah who kept the air moving in the bedroom from the courtyard below.

So why was Krishna a naughty man? Well he stole the clothes of a group of ladies who were bathing and hid with the clothing in a tree so that he could seduce one lady in particular ….. and so the story goes.

Don't leave yet - we're having fun!

Meanwhile at one of the havelis we made friends with the caretaker’s children, pitching a rubber ball to them. Consumed with laughter, their baseball and cricket bats were of limited use in the venture.  Who were these strangers anyway?