Fatehpur, Shekhawati - North of Jaipur

	Fatehpur, Shekhawati - North of Jaipur
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Off NH-11, Fatehpur is the closest town in Shekhawati to Bikaner, 116km west, and a good place to stop overnight if you're taking the northern route across the Thar to or from Jaisalmer. The only accommodation available is decidedly uninspiring, but the town itself, packed with elaborately painted mansions, temples, wells and chhatris , is an atmospheric little place that in parts has the feel of a crumbling open-air museum.

In 1450 Fateh Khan, a Muslim Khaimkani Nawab, claimed leadership of the small settlement, but the Shekawats, who took control in the eighteenth century, were responsible for the extravagantly decorated havelis lining nearly every street. Many of the murals here incorporate wonderful images of colonial times - the king emperor, soldiers, trains and parties of angrezi in vintage cars. Another common theme is Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, attended by mighty, regal elephants, and set against a rich azure background.

The most celebrated of Fatehpur's havelis is the small but exquisite Goenka Haveli , built in the mid-nineteenth century by a Jain merchant, Mahavir Prasad, and reached by following the main road north from the bus stand and turning left at the first main crossroads. While the inner courtyard is beautifully painted, the first-floor room is dazzling, its walls and ceiling decorated in the finest detail with a myriad of colors, gold leaf and mirrors.

Panels to either side of the door show Krishna riding an elephant (on the right) and a horse (on the left), each animal made up of contorted female figures. A room next door shows further scenes from Krishna's life, and women spinning, churning butter and decorating each other's feet with spidery henna patterns.

A later building to the left of Goenka Haveli has superb mirror work in the front porch. If you rejoin the main northbound road at the crossroads, and turn right after 20m, you'll come to Nand Lal Devra Haveli , whose splendid ceiling panels in the reception area were copied by many other merchant families. The murals on the courtyard walls, and the complex carving of the wooden doors and shutters, are equally impressive.

To the north of town, distinctive Shekhawati wells ( baoris ) stand raised on square platforms, with domed shelters on each corner, so they could be seen from afar. Once the lifeline of the community, and still common meeting places, these wells have not suffered the decay seen elsewhere since the advent of more sophisticated plumbing