One get to Laxmangarh by bus, or you could take a meter gauge train from Sikar. About 50 m north of the bus stand through the busy bazaar, a wide cobblestone path wends its way up the east side of the fort. There's a sign advising that the fort is private property, but there's a good view from the top of the ramp before the main entrance. From here you can see the layout of the double Char Chowk Haveli, below and to the north-east. Head for this haveli when you descend the ramp.

 

 

 

 

Beneath the cave on the northern external wall of the Char Chowk Haveli is a picture of a bird standing on an elephant with another elephant in its beak. The large paintings on the facade of the northern face have mostly faded, and the paintings in the outer downstairs courtyard are covered by blue wash. The paintings in the inner courtyard are fairly well preserved. The wails and ceiling of a small upstairs room on the east side of the northern haveli are completely covered with paintings. It has some explicit erotic images, but is very badly illuminated, so although they're well preserved you'll need a flashlight to examine them properly.

 

In the same building, a room in the northwest corner retains floral swirls and motifs on the ceiling with scenes from the Krishna legends interspersed with inlaid mirrors. The black and white rectangular designs on the lower walls create a marbled effect. No one lives in the haveli now, but there may be someone around who will open it for you (for a small fee). The front facade is in very poor condition at the lower levels, with the plaster crumbling and the bricks exposed. The southern haveli is still inhabited.

 

About 50 m east of this haveli is the large Radhi Murlimanohar Temple, which dates from 1845. It retains a few paintings beneath the eaves and some sculptures of deities around the external walls. To the south of this temple is the busy bazaar, flanked by a series of uniform shops whose overhanging balconies have three scalloped open arches flanked by two blank arches with lattice friezes. The shops were constructed in the mid-l9th century by a branch of the Poddar family known as Ganeriwala, who hailed from the village of Ganeri.

 

If you turn left at the first intersection south of the temple, on the corner of the first laneway on the left is the Chetram Sanganeeria Haveli. The lower paintings on the west wall are badly damaged: the plaster has peeled away and concrete rendering has been applied. Paintings on this wall include a woman in a swing suspended from a tree; a woman spinning; a man dancing on a pole balancing knives; people enjoying a ride on a Ferris wheel; a man ploughing fields with oxen; and men sawing timber.

 

On the north-east corner of the clock tower square, which is about 100 m south of the temple via the busy bazaar, is the Rathi Family Haveli. On the west wall, a European woman in a smart red frock sews on a treadle machine. The European influence is very much in evidence here, with painted roses and a Grecian column effect. On the south side of this haveli are ostentatious flourishes and the British crown flanked by unicorns. On the east side is depicted a railway station (a painted sign reads 'A Railway Station', in case you weren't sure!), and some blue eyed British soldiers. There is a busy set of chai (tea) stalls on the west side of the haveli, and this is a good place to sit and admire these extraordinarily over-the-top paintings.

 

Behind this haveli, a short distance to the east, is the Shyonarayan Kyal Haveli, which dates from around 1900. Under the eaves on the east wall, a man and woman engage in an intimate tryst while a maidservant stands by with a glass of wine at the ready. Other pictures include those of a woman admiring herself in a mirror and Europeans being drawn by horses with a tiny coachman at the reins.

 

The heritage hevelis are on the attack by the land Mafia, mushrooming on the behest and patronage of the greedy and corrupt administration in the area. These havelis are destroyed and new illegal high rise malls are constructed in unplanned way. The local government i.e. Municipal Board has turned blind eye with the vested interest. The matter has been headlined by the local newspapers at times but could not bring the desired results to protect the heritage buildings.