Shekhawati Region (Jhunjhunu / Nawalgarh / Mandawa etc.)

Shekhawati is a historic region of northern Rajasthan, covering mainly Jhunjhunu, Sikar and Churu districts, with famous towns like Mandawa, Nawalgarh, Fatehpur and Ramgarh. It is named after Maha Rao Shekha, a 15th-century Kachwaha Rajput chief; Shekhawati literally means “the garden/land of Rao Shekha.” In early times this area formed part of the Matsya kingdom and later came under Maurya, Gupta and Chauhan Rajput influence. From the 15th century, Shekhawat Rajputs established a confederation of thikanas (estates) here, ruling semi-independently while acknowledging Jaipur. Between the 17th and early 20th centuries, Shekhawati flourished as a trading region on caravan routes linking Delhi, Gujarat and ports of western India. Marwari merchant families and Shekhawat nobles invested their wealth in elaborate havelis, temples, stepwells and chhatris, whose exteriors and interiors were covered with rich fresco paintings—mythological scenes, local life and even modern trains and cars. By the mid-20th century many merchants moved to big cities like Kolkata and Mumbai, leaving ancestral mansions neglected, though today restoration and heritage-tourism efforts are reviving this unique “open-air art gallery” of Rajasthan.