A window that steps out into the air
A jharokha is not just a hole in a wall. It is a small room hung outside the building, so you can sit in it and look three ways at once.
The projection: the jharokha juts out from the face of the wall, so whoever sits in it can see up and down the street as well as straight ahead.
The brackets: carved stone or wooden supports hold it up, often shaped as lotus buds, peacocks, elephants or coiled leaves.
Facts to know
- Jharokha
- A projecting, roofed balcony window
- Jali
- The pierced stone screen across it
- Chhajja
- The deep eave above it
- Brackets
- The carved supports below it
- Bangaldar roof
- The curved roof that bends down at both ends
- The roof: a small dome, a pointed cap or a curved bangaldar roof shelters it, with a deep eave, the chhajja, to throw shade.
- The screen: many jharokhas are closed with a jali, a stone lattice. Others are open, with only a low parapet.
- The seat: inside, there is usually a ledge or cushioned platform wide enough for one or two people to sit cross-legged.
- Our signature: the arched window shape you see across our own pages is the jharokha arch. To us it is the most Rajasthani shape there is.
How to read a jharokha, from bottom to top
Take one jharokha and look at it slowly, from the brackets up. It is a small building in its own right.
The brackets
- What they do: carry the weight of the projecting balcony back into the wall.
- What to look for: on Salim Singh ki Haveli in Jaisalmer, peacock brackets; in Bundi, elephants; in Jaipur, lotus buds and leaves.
The base and parapet
- What it is: a carved ledge and low wall at sitting height, often with a band of small arches or flowers.
- Why sitting height: jharokhas were made to be used seated, the normal way of sitting in a Rajasthani house.
The arches
- What to look for: scalloped or cusped arches, with many small curves, framing the openings.
- The influence: the cusped arch came into Rajput building through centuries of contact with Mughal architecture.
The jali
- What it is: a screen of pierced stone in geometric or floral patterns, often carved from a single slab.
- Why: it hides those inside, cuts the glare and lets the breeze through. Our architecture guide explains the craft.
The roof and eave
- What it is: a small dome or curved roof over a deep stone eave.
- The bangaldar roof: the curving roof that bends down at both ends came originally from the thatched huts of Bengal and reached Rajasthan through Mughal architecture.
Local tip
Bring small binoculars to Jaisalmer and Bundi. The finest carving on a jharokha is usually on the brackets and the underside, where you can only see it from the street.
Jharokha, jali, chhatri: telling them apart
Guides use a handful of words for the parts of a Rajasthani facade. Here is how to keep them straight.
A jharokha you can sit in: if it projects from the wall and has a seat, it is a jharokha.
Facts to know
- Jharokha
- The projecting balcony window
- Jali
- The pierced stone screen
- Chhatri
- A domed kiosk on pillars
- Chhajja
- The deep stone eave
- Toran
- A decorative arched gateway
- A jali you look through: if it is a flat screen of pierced stone, in a wall or a window, it is a jali.
- A chhatri you stand under: if it is a small dome on pillars, on a roof or over a memorial, it is a chhatri.
- Often all three together: a single royal window may have a jali in front, a chhatri on top and a chhajja all round.
Why Rajasthan built them
A jharokha did four jobs at once. Understand those four, and you understand a good deal about how the old courts lived.
To see without being seen
Purdah: in royal and noble households, women kept purdah, staying out of sight of men outside the family.
- The jharokha's answer: behind a jali, the women of the zenana could watch processions, festivals and the street below without being seen.
- The best example: Hawa Mahal, built so the royal women could watch the bazaar and the processions of Jaipur.
To be seen
- Darshan: an open jharokha let a ruler show himself to his people, a moment of blessing called darshan, the same word used for seeing a god.
- At court: kings sat in a jharokha above the hall of public audience to hear petitions and receive salutes.
To keep cool
- The breeze: as air passes through the small holes of a jali it speeds up and cools slightly, so the seat inside catches every breath of wind.
- The shade: the deep eave and the projection keep direct sun off the wall and the room behind.
To show wealth
- On havelis: merchants competed to carve the richest jharokhas on their street fronts. A facade full of them told every passer-by how well a family had done.
- On palaces: rows of jharokhas made a fort or palace look grand from below, softening a blank wall into lace.
Jharokha darshan: the emperor at the window
Every morning at sunrise, crowds gathered below a window of the Mughal palace. When the emperor appeared, they knew the empire was well.
Our grandfather used to say that in old India, a king you could not see was a king you could not trust. The jharokha solved that. For a few minutes each day the ruler and his people looked at each other, and that small ritual held a whole kingdom together.
Akbar's custom: the emperor Akbar appeared at a palace window at sunrise so his subjects could see him and know he was alive and well.
- His successors: Jahangir and Shah Jahan kept the custom, and it became one of the great daily rituals of Mughal rule.
- Its end: Aurangzeb, a stricter ruler, gave up the practice during his reign.
- Where to see one: the throne balcony above the hall of public audience at the Red Fort in Delhi, and the jharokhas of Agra Fort facing the river.
- In Rajput courts: Rajput rulers, closely tied to the Mughal court, also showed themselves at palace windows on festival days and to receive the salutes of nobles.
Hawa Mahal, a building made of jharokhas
No building in India shows the jharokha off like Hawa Mahal. It is less a palace than a pink stone curtain of windows.
The idea: a facade five storeys high and barely a room deep, set right on the main bazaar beside the City Palace.
The windows: 953 small jharokhas and latticed openings, each with its own curved roof, scalloped arch and stone screen.
Facts to know
- Built
- 1799, by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh
- Architect
- Lal Chand Ustad
- Windows
- 953 jharokhas and latticed openings
- Height
- Five storeys
- Best hour
- Just after sunrise
- Who watched: the women of the royal household, who kept purdah, came here to watch the street and the processions.
- The name: Hawa Mahal means palace of the wind, for the breeze the jharokhas channel through the building.
- Go inside: most visitors photograph the front and leave. Climb the ramps inside and sit in a jharokha yourself, looking down at the bazaar as the queens did.
- The colour: the pink came later, in 1876. Our story of why Jaipur is pink explains it.
Local tip
Take a cup of chai at one of the rooftop cafes across the road at sunrise. The light falls full on the facade, and you can count the jharokhas while the street below is still asleep.
The finest jharokhas in Rajasthan
Every city carved its windows in its own stone and its own style. These are the facades we would cross a city to see.
Jaisalmer's havelis
Patwon ki Haveli: five merchant houses begun in 1805, their yellow sandstone fronts covered in jharokhas carved like lace.
- Salim Singh ki Haveli: a top storey, the Moti Mahal, that flares out in carved balconies under curved roofs.
- Nathmal ki Haveli: a later facade where, guides say, two brothers carved one side each.
Mehrangarh, Jodhpur
- What to see: the palace courtyards of Mehrangarh are lined with fine red sandstone jalis and jharokhas, especially around the women's quarters.
- The effect: from the courtyard floor the walls look like carved screens rising storey after storey.
The City Palace, Udaipur
- What to see: balconies and jharokhas looking out over Lake Pichola, and inner windows opening onto mosaic courtyards.
- Best view: from a boat on the lake in the late afternoon, when the whole facade glows.
Bundi's Garh Palace
- What to see: jharokhas with elephant brackets and curved roofs on a palace that tumbles down the hill.
- Why we love it: few visitors, painted rooms inside and a view from every window.
Shekhawati's painted havelis
- What to see: jharokhas painted as well as carved, set into frescoed walls in towns such as Mandawa and Nawalgarh.
- Learn more: our page on painted havelis explains the art.
Amber Fort
- What to see: screened windows of the women's quarters and the delicate jalis of the private palace, looking down over Maota Lake.
- When: early, as the gates open, before the crowds.
The window in painting and song
The jharokha is more than architecture. For four centuries it has been one of the great images of Indian painting and folk song.
Jharokha portraits: Mughal painters showed emperors framed in a palace window, looking out over their realm. The format became a kind of royal portrait in itself.
Rajput miniatures: court painters of Mewar, Bundi, Kishangarh and Jodhpur painted queens and lovers at windows, watching for a rider on the road or the first monsoon clouds.
- Folk songs of waiting: Rajasthani songs often picture a woman at the jharokha, waiting for a husband away at war or with the caravans. The window is where longing lives.
- Where to see the paintings: the palace museums of Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur, and the murals of the Chitrashala in Bundi. Our page on miniature painting explains the schools.
- Ask the musicians: if you hear folk singers at a palace dinner, ask for a song about the window. Most know one.
Stone, wood and the people who carved them
The finest jharokhas were carved by families of craftsmen whose names are mostly lost. Their work is not.
Sandstone: most Rajasthani jharokhas are carved from local sandstone, yellow in Jaisalmer, red and pink in Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaipur.
Carved in place: in Jaisalmer, carvers often worked on blocks already set into the wall, finishing the detail on site.
- Marble: in a few royal buildings, jharokhas and jalis were carved from white Makrana marble, the stone of the Taj Mahal.
- Wood: in some havelis, especially in Shekhawati, balconies and window frames were made of carved wood, painted bright colours.
- Still made today: stone carvers in Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and around Kishangarh still carve jharokhas and jalis for new homes and hotels. Our marble craft page has more.
A jharokha walk through Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer has more carved windows per lane than anywhere in India. This is the morning route our guides take.
Seven o'clock: Salim Singh ki Haveli
- Why first: the low sun catches the flaring top storey from the side, and the lane is empty.
- Look for: the peacock brackets under the balconies.
Eight o'clock: Patwon ki Haveli
- Why: five facades side by side, each slightly different, in the narrow lane that bears the family's name.
- Go inside: the museum rooms let you sit behind a jharokha and look down at the lane.
Nine o'clock: Nathmal ki Haveli
- Why: compare the two halves of the facade and decide for yourself whether two brothers carved it.
- Look for: the carved elephants at the door.
Ten o'clock: up into the fort
- Why: the lanes inside Jaisalmer Fort are full of small, lived-in houses with jharokhas of their own.
- Then: rest through the heat, and save the cenotaphs of Bada Bagh for sunset.
How to see jharokhas well
Jharokhas reward patience and the right light. These are the habits that help.
Side light: low sun from one side picks out the carving. At noon, flat light makes even the finest jharokha look plain.
Look from inside too: sit in a jharokha wherever you can. The view out through a jali is the whole point.
Before you go
- Best light
- Early morning or late afternoon, from the side
- Bring
- Small binoculars and a zoom lens
- Best cities
- Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bundi
- Allow
- A slow morning walk in each old town
- Look up, then down: the brackets and undersides often have the best carving. Then look at the street from the window, and imagine who sat there.
- Walk the old lanes: the most beautiful jharokhas are often on ordinary houses in Jaisalmer, Bundi and the walled city of Jaipur, not on famous monuments.
- Respect homes: many jharokhas belong to houses where families still live. Photograph from the street and never point a lens at someone sitting in one.
- Learn with a guide: our heritage walks are planned around the best facades and the best hour for each.
What most visitors miss
Most travellers photograph Hawa Mahal from the street and move on. These are the small things that make jharokhas come alive.
The view from inside: at Hawa Mahal, Amber and Mehrangarh you can sit where the queens sat. It changes how you see the building.
The cooling: put your hand beside a jali on a still day and feel the moving air. The old builders knew what they were doing.
- The hidden figures: look for small carved musicians, dancers and animals tucked among the brackets.
- The repeat: stand back and notice how one small form, repeated hundreds of times, makes a whole facade. That is the genius of Hawa Mahal.
- The modern copies: new hotels in Rajasthan are full of jharokhas, some fine and some clumsy. Once you have seen the real ones, you can tell the difference.
Jharokhas in Rajasthan today
The jharokha never went out of fashion. You will see it on new hotels, homes and shops across the state.
On new buildings: architects in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur still add jharokhas and jalis to new facades, in stone or concrete.
- In heritage hotels: many palace hotels and havelis have rooms with a jharokha seat. Ask for one when we book, and you can take your morning tea in it.
- In homes: in the old cities, families still sit in their jharokhas in the evening, watching the lane, calling to neighbours and drying chillies on the ledge.
- As a symbol: the jharokha arch appears on wedding cards, shop signs and government logos. It has become shorthand for Rajasthan itself.
Where jharokhas fit in your journey
You will see jharokhas everywhere in Rajasthan. These are the routes and stays that put the finest ones at your door.
Stay behind one: in a heritage haveli you may sleep in a room with its own jharokha over the lane. Our journal on what a haveli is explains the house.
Jaipur first: start at Hawa Mahal at sunrise, then the City Palace of Jaipur and Amber Fort.
- The golden city: two days in Jaisalmer for the haveli facades, ideally on our desert triangle journey.
- For photographers: our photography journey times each facade for the best light.
- Related shapes: read our journal on what a chhatri is, the domed kiosk that often crowns a jharokha.
Who will love the jharokhas
Some travellers notice them on day one. Others need a guide to point them out, and then cannot stop seeing them.
Lovers of detail: if you like to look closely, Jaisalmer and Bundi will keep you happy for days.
- Photographers: facades in raking light and views through jalis are among the best subjects in Rajasthan.
- Families: children love finding the hidden animals among the brackets. Make it a game.
- Who might not: if carving and architecture leave you cold, see Hawa Mahal from inside and spend your time on lakes and desert instead.