Rampuria Haveli Tour Through Historic Center of Bikaner
A visit to Rampuriya Haveli and a cluster of other haveli in the historic centre of Bikaner city can leave you dazed! Who stayed in these Haveli (traditional mansions) of Bikaner? Where are they now? And most important why are they in such an abandoned neglected state? These are some of the questions that haunted my mind as I walked through the old streets of historic centre of Bikaner.
I toured the narrow lanes between the havelis of Bikaner early this year (January 2017) in a horse driven carriage. Seems like a long time but the memories refuse to fade away. A couple of hours’ tour through those lanes left me dazed. So much of grandeur and opulence in a state of neglect! I have here, in this blogpost, a tour of the streets on a horse driven carriage. This tour was a part of merchant trail organized by the good folks of Narendra Bhawan, a palace converted to hotel.
Architecture of Rampuria Haveli and other Mansions
Somebody with impeccable design sense has made these haveli for sure! Intricate details even though now coated with layers of dust due to years of neglect doesn’t fail to catch your admiration. They force you to stand and gaze.
First and foremost, the color of havelis is attractive red! It is not a coat of paint but red sandstone. It is said these stones have been sourced from Dulmera, a nearby village in Bikaner. Exquisite and fine delicate carving is possible on these kinds of stones. Themes are mostly flowers leaves and birds. One of the façade has sculpted images of British Monarchs looking down at ‘once his subjects’ walking down the streets of historic center of Bikaner.
The interiors are out of bounds for public, so all we could see were the majestic, grand facades during Rampuria Haveli Tour. As is typical of Rajasthani architecture, here too the facades consist of jharokah – windows of yester years made of arches and fine lattice work, doorways beautifully carved but now unfortunately closed to public and tourists. The beautiful hand crafted doors are shut with ugly locks. Some of the painted medallions that still exist are very impressive. Images seem to be copy of prints of 19th century art works. Contrasting them are the sculpted images of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi on door frames.
Who Built Rampuria Haveli
During 19th century the wealthy merchant family, Rampuria took the services of Balujee Chalva to construct royal and elegant mansions that befit their status in society. We were told by the guide that interiors of these haveli have lavish inner halls and rooms decorated and beautified with aesthetic objects. Today the mansions are being ripped of these heritage collectibles and sold in market. They seem to fetch more than the haveli itself.
Where are the owners of Rampuriya Havelis
Descendants of the original owners no longer live in these mansions. Those who have flourished in their business have settled abroad and left these mansions to care takers. Those who haven’t fared well still inhabit these mansions. The tragedy is the mansions have got divided by inheritance into several families, hence no longer huge mansions under the care of one owner but little houses with independent owners.
Why are the havelis in such an abandoned neglected state
Interesting to note that the owners abroad keep changing the caretakers every one or two years; lest the caretakers establish their ownership on them! Caretakers too therefore have least interest in the good maintenance of the mansions. They know they are responsible for just 1 or 2 years. The ornamental facades of the haveli have withstood the torture of time, so it seems. But further neglect can cause a loss to the heritage of this historical city of Bikaner.
Location of Rampuria Haveli
Rampuria Haveli is very well connected by roads of Bikaner. One can avail taxis and buses for reaching this destination. Nearest airport is Jodhpur International Airport – distance – 251 km.
Travel and Tour Tips for Rampuria Haveli Tour
- Charge your camera batteries and have spare chips too. Chances are that you will run out of memory space or power during Rampuria Haveli Tour, may be both because there is plenty to shoot and capture.
- Summers can be unbearably hot. August to March is best time. I toured in January. Winters here are any day better.
- Interact with locals, may be you will stumble on some old story of the place.
- Take water with you. If you fall in love with the facades there the walk can be long.
- No tickets are required to tour the streets. The sights are free.
- There is no open and close timings. The sights are open throughout the year.
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Everything looks so stately. I love it. Dramatic, peaceful, dignified. Fabulous.
Taking a horse and carriage is the way to go to walk around the city and to get places. I love the color of the building.
Interesting read!! Thanks for sharing!! Great pictures too!!! Makes me go and visit this Haweli..
Wow, this is beautiful! I love all the detail and colors~
That looks like a truly wonderful place to visit. I love its architecture and all the elaborate details. Great pics! 🙂
This looks like an absolutely beautiful and tranquil place to visit! I love your photos so very much and the architecture is stunning!
Such interesting and intricate design. It’s a shame the insides are off limits. It would be interesting to see what it looked like in its prime.
Such intricate details.
Looks like another world. Another age, altogether.
These buildings are such amazing pieces of work!!
Well…this post is bringing back all the memories of childhood. I’ve spent larger part of my earlier life in Bikaner and Narendra Bhawan used to be our neighborhood of MEO hired quarters of faujis. The Prince was a regular in the fauji circle. His passion for dogs used to be the talk of the town.
I’m in love with all of these doorways and windows! They’re so intricate. And I really love the shade of pink. Thank you for the amazing tour of a very unique place.
Oh my gosh this is so stunning. I love the pink tones of Rampuria Haveli so much. I also loved the splashes of turquoise as well. I hope that they continue to stand and are preserved because they’re truly treasures.
Bummer that you can’t go inside, but it gives it a sense of mystery and opens the imagination to visualize what’s inside. The facades are so intricate, can imagine there’s a lot of history on those walls…
This place looks amazing. How many days would you recommend someone take? All in one day? And is there aaaannnnyyyy way to get inside? I am super intrigued now. Thanks for letting us into this awesome world.
I’m not sure what it is about that Rampuria Haveli building but I love it. I’m not sure if it’s the architecture and it’s intricate details or the colour. It’s completely stunning. I wonder why the building is closed to the public and tourists. I would pay to explore inside.
Red is always an attractive color. When something is painted or colored in red, it’s very visible and catchy in the eyes, though not quite similar, this historic center reminds me of the red town, Melaka, in Malaysia. Your post is just an amazing picture of India truly has colorful and interesting history and historic places such as Rampuria Haveli. Interacting with locals while touring is also a good chance to listen to some great old stories.
Truly Awesome Rampuria Haveli , Very informative post. Loved all pics.
Ah! you have have brought back fond memories of our jaunts in the streets of Bikaner. This is a great write-up on the intricate architecture and hope government would take steps to ensure they don’t fall apart.
Just like you I also started my explorations with those questions, and then ended up being so mesmerized by them that I forgot half of them! The city is so rich in heritage and these havelis are a perfect example! By the way – love pictures 🙂
Very interesting regarding the caretakers and their limited terms -on one hand, they have no interest in doing a standout job. On the other, they’re gunning to launch a defacto take over of the building!
The details on these havelis is incredible! I love the red of the Tempura Haveli. How much time it must have taken to do all that intricate stone carving! Even the door frames are stunning! It’s sad to hear these places are in such a state of neglect and that the objects in the mansions are being sold off in the markets. It’s a shame that the short term caretakers don’t invest in better maintenance. This certainly seems like a worthwhile tour in Bikaner, since you wouldn’t know all the background of these buildings and about their current state just from walking by. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for posting such an interesting article on historic centre bikaner. The images that you have shown here are awesome and worth seeing. The text content is worth reading.
You know I lived (with my parents) in Bikaner for two years, when I was a little child and apparently, we did a lot of sight seeing but I do not remember anything. Rampuria Haveli looks amazing, I love the typical historical Rajasthani architecture and this one particularly is intriguing, thanks for sharing!
Rajasthan has some of the most beautiful historical buildings in India. Bikaner, although a small city, seems to have some great hidden gems of its own. I remember visiting Bikaner when I was a little child and I dont remember much of what I did at the time but the rampuria haveli looks amazing, with the detailing in its architecture. Love it!
Magnificient buildings,amazing.
Rampuriya family is largely settled in Kolkatta. Although you might have seen few signs of deterioration, but most of these Havelis are being maintained hence reasonable well. I have visited one of the haveli recently, it is one of its kind with art deco architecture
It really looks like you’ve stepped back in time while visiting Rampuria Haveli! Thanks for always showing us that there are so many more places to visit in India than just Agra.
I think the red sandstone really makes these structures unique! It’s too bad that they are not being cared for properly. The architecture is amazing, and I can see why you’d run out of room on your camera! lol
We went to this place back in 2007, so cool! Bikaner was our first stop on our India trip after a few days in Delhi and loved it. Unfortunately I got a bit of food poisoning after getting a bit excited and drinking the tap water but other than that it was awesome. Reading this takes me back.
I understand the people might have moved to a more modern life but I hope someone will continue to take care of this beautiful architectural place.
Those buildings look gorgeous, I bet the pictures don’t even do them justice. So interesting that the havelis are red from red sandstone, very unique.
It is a shame they are not more well taken care of as they architecture, the sculpture, and the details is absolutely beautiful, but I can understand that the descendants have moved on to their own modern lives or it could quickly become a prison to them.
What a beautiful place to visit and tour. The architectural details of these places in Bikaner are just stunning! Would love to see them in person one day, during a visit on a cooler month of the year as you did. 😉
That really looks like somewhere from times gone by! An amazing tour!
How is this possible! Such amazingly detailed buildings falling into this state.
Really interesting article.
the doors and the reddish nuances od the walls and bricks are puzzling! I’m Italian and so I have a special fascination for the great architecture and design works of art all around the world. Thank you for showing me this previously unknown spot
Such beautiful architectural facades. Lovely pictures and narration. I do hope that the history doesn’t get lost in the whole management process.
Such interesting places and lovely photos! 🙂
Nice write up.
Amazing architecture and wonderful pics,they surely didn’t get the attention they deserved.
So much history, so little care… .hope some of these survive the current sanctuary
Amazing pictures and superb narration