Fatehpur, the nawabs' town and the French painter's haveli

Before the Rajputs, the nawabs

• The founding: around 1449 to 1451 Nawab Fateh Khan built a fort and founded the town that still carries his name.
• Jhunjhunu too: it was also theirs, and for much of the Mughal period the nawabs of Fatehpur and Jhunjhunu were the main power in what became Shekhawati.
• The end, in the 1730s: Shardul Singh took Jhunjhunu in 1730, and in 1731 Rao Shiv Singh of Sikar drove the Kaimkhanis out of Fatehpur.
• Changing hands: briefly back to the nawabs in the 1740s and briefly to the Marathas in the 1790s, before settling under the Rao Rajas of Sikar.
• An Irish adventurer: in 1799 George Thomas, who had made himself a kingdom in Haryana, fought a battle near the town.
• Always a crossroads: that is Fatehpur's character.
• The older layer survives: Kaimkhani families still live in the town and the villages around it.
• Their monuments: the tomb of Nawab Alif Khan is one of the few still standing. The fort is a ruin.
• See it in order: ask your guide to take you past these older corners before the painted havelis, so you see Fatehpur as it grew, a nawab's town first and a merchant's town second.
• The merchant families: the Devras, Singhanias, Poddars, Goenkas, Saraogis, Chaudharys and Ganeriwalas arrived under both regimes and flourished under the Rajputs.
• Their fortunes: made on the caravan trade and later on business in Calcutta and Bombay.
• What they built: from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century, havelis, wells, temples and stepwells, every one bearing a family name.

Nadine Le Prince and the Devra haveli

• More scenes: elephants pouring water over Lakshmi, a camel-mounted army firing a cannon, a drumming Ganesh, and a man tying his turban in front of a mirror.
• Decades of neglect: by the time Nadine Le Prince saw it, the haveli had been closed for years.
• The damage: kitchen smoke had blackened the walls of the second courtyard, sand and sun had scoured the outside, and painted palanquins were draped with laundry.
• A year of preparation: after buying the house she spent the first year finding the right craftsmen, pigments and methods.
• Cleaning, not repainting: the master restorer Cécile Charpentier led the fresco work, removing soot and dust rather than painting over.
• Setbacks: the work went on for years, and heavy rains sometimes damaged freshly restored walls.
• Her name on the door: the haveli is now a cultural centre with a gallery of contemporary and traditional Indian art.
• The Shekhawati Project: based here, it trains young Indian restorers in fresco conservation and has gone on to work on other buildings.
• Stay inside: a few guest rooms let you sleep in the restored house.
• Students and tours: European art students come to study the paintings, and guided tours explain what you see.
• Why it moves us: the builders' families mostly live far away, government help has been thin and international heritage bodies have shown little interest in Shekhawati.
• One outsider: with a stubborn love for the place, she showed what could be done, and the courtyards are the proof.

The other havelis and temples of Fatehpur

• Light: morning suits the east-facing facades, late afternoon the inner courts.
• Bring a torch: for the ceilings, and leave a tip with whoever opened the door.
• A brush with cinema: the 1985 Hindi film Ghulami, directed by J. P. Dutta and starring Dharmendra, was shot extensively in the havelis and at the railway station.
• Reading the paintings: our guide to Shekhawati frescoes and our page on painted havelis.

Fatehpur as a working town

• What lac is: a resin secreted by tiny insects on forest trees, collected, cleaned and coloured.
• Lac bangles: sticks of coloured lac are heated and shaped round a wooden form, and families in the bazaar will make a set to your size while you wait.
• Bitter cold: Fatehpur sits on an open, sandy plain, and on clear winter nights the temperature regularly drops below freezing.
• In the news: the town sometimes makes national headlines in January as one of the coldest places in the state.
• Fierce heat: in summer the same plain bakes.
• Shaped by extremes: thick haveli walls, sleeping on the roof in May and wrapping up in quilts in January.
• Holi: loud, with chang drums and singing in the lanes for weeks before.
• Gangaur: women fill the streets carrying the goddess.
• Eid: celebrated by the town's Muslim families.
• In winter: ask about the Shekhawati Festival, when folk music and village events come to the painted towns.

Wells, stepwells and johras

• Pillars as signposts: they announced the gift from a distance across the flat plain.
• The ramp: for bullocks or camels hauling a great leather bag of water up on a rope over a pulley.
• Deep water: often very far down, so the walk down the ramp could be long.
• The baori: a grander idea, where you walk down flights of steps to the water, with landings and pavilions to rest in the cool.
• Fatehpur's stepwell: a large one, now sadly neglected, which helps you understand the famous ones at Abhaneri and elsewhere.
• The johra: a reservoir that catches rain from a paved or cleared catchment, used for animals and washing.
• All three explained: our page on Rajasthan's stepwells.
• The real public works: alongside dharamshalas, rest houses for travellers, and the schools and temples the families funded.
• Remembered for a century: a merchant who built a well was remembered by every woman who walked to it.
• How to see them: ask your guide for two or three on the way in or out, in the late afternoon, when women still gather at the ones that hold water and the pillars throw long shadows.

Ramgarh, Lachhmangarh and the towns around

Where to stay

What to eat in Fatehpur

• On every thali: ker sangri, the dish of desert berries and beans, and gatte ki sabzi, gram-flour dumplings in spiced yoghurt gravy.
• A richer kitchen: the town's Muslim families cook more meat, and an invitation home during Eid means eating very well indeed.
• Sweets: fresh jalebis in the morning and mawa sweets of slowly reduced milk.
• No smart restaurants: we arrange lunch at the Le Prince haveli or back at Mandawa.
• Or a courtyard picnic: home-style food in a painted courtyard, with the owner's permission.
• Know your bowls: read our guide to the Rajasthani thali before you go.

Getting to Fatehpur

• Towards the desert: a good stop between Jaipur and Bikaner.
• By rail: the station is on the line through Sikar and Churu, but we still recommend coming by car with your chauffeur.
• In town: walk between the havelis near the bazaar, and use the car for outlying temples and wells.
• Our journeys: the Painted Towns of Shekhawati journey and the Heritage Havelis Trail both include Fatehpur.
• Planning the drives: our guide to getting around Rajasthan.

A perfect half day, and a full one

Who will love Fatehpur, and who won't

• Who adores it: painters, architects, photographers and anyone interested in conservation.
• Second-timers: travellers who have done the big forts and want to see how wealthy families lived in nineteenth-century Rajasthan.
• You may not love it if: you want polish. The highway side is dusty and noisy, and many havelis are locked or crumbling.
• What's missing: smart restaurants, shops beyond the bazaar, and more than a handful of rooms.
• The focused version: the Le Prince and Singhania havelis in an hour or two, then back to the comforts of Mandawa.
• Either way: come with time to look up, and with small notes for the caretakers.
• Built for the curious: our Offbeat Rajasthan journey.

Before you go

• Pack for extremes: a down jacket for December and January evenings, a hat and indoor middays in May.
• Respect mosques and temples: cover shoulders and knees, remove shoes, and ask before photographing worshippers.
• Carry small notes: for caretakers and temple offerings. They keep many doors open.
• Don't buy antique doors or brackets: many are stripped from neglected buildings.
• Read the region first: the Shekhawati region page makes Fatehpur much easier to understand.