An Open-Air Art Gallery

Popular as the largest open-air art gallery of the word, Ramgarh in the Shekawati region of Rajasthan has an intriguing history. Ramgarh is said to be founded by the Poddar merchant family who left the nearby town of Churu - a small township in Bikaner - due to a dispute related to taxation. They came and settled in the almost unknown village of Ramgarh and vowed to make it grander and richer than the Churu they had left.

In the course of the next 100 years, they kept their promise and Ramgarh developed into one of the most beautiful towns in the entire Shekhawati region and one of the richest towns in India. Along with wealth, the Poddars are complimented as being patrons of learning and the facilities for learning made available here has had the town being also known as ‘Doosra Kashi’ or second Kashi.

Today it is a treasure trove of painted temples, havelis and cenotaphs constructed between the 18th century to the 20th century by the wealthy businessmen. These are exceptional for their frescos and murals depicting mythological themes from the epics as well as images of huge animals. Though with the coming of the British, western influences began to make their appearance and foreigners in hats, suits and gowns, cars, steam, locomotives and train, airplanes, and telephones found their place on the walls along with scenes from Lord Krishna’s life. 

The main attraction in Ramgarh besides the havelis is the cenotaph (chhatri) of  Ram Gopal Poddar. Built in 1872 it houses more than 500 marvellous murals. The one in the dome can be singled out for being exceptional.