Dhundhar & Shekhawati · Arid Northwest
Lac bangles, made and sized to the wrist over a flame while you wait
A lane off Tripolia Bazaar that the 1727 plan assigned to the Manihar bangle-makers, and which still holds them. Buy the plain lac before the mirror-set ones if the craft rather than the sparkle is the point.
Marble and sandstone image carving
Another trade street from the original plan, working to temple commissions across India. The carvers' exposure to stone dust is a serious and documented occupational risk, which is worth knowing before photographing anyone at work.
Blue pottery from the workshop of the man who revived it
Kripal Singh Shekhawat's own studio, continued by his family. Useful as a reference point for what the painting is supposed to look like before comparing anything sold in the bazaar.
Pyaaz kachori and mawa kachori
The kachori most people in Jaipur will name first, sold from mid-morning and gone by evening.
Ghewar, paneer ghewar and a pure-vegetarian Rajasthani thali
A Johari Bazaar sweet house of long standing that also runs a dining room. In Sawan the ghewar counter is a separate operation from the rest of the shop.
Thick lassi served in unglazed clay kulhads, sold until it runs out
The original shop is flanked by several trading on the same name, and the distinction is a standing local argument. Ask which one is which before joining a queue.
Handmade cotton-rag paper, sized, dyed and embedded with fibre
Working mills rather than shops. Most will show the vat, the press and the drying wall, which is the only way to understand why the sheet costs what it does.
Dabu mud-resist block print bought at the printing yard
Buying at the yard is how the resist and the dye can actually be checked. Natural and chemical dyeing happen side by side in the same village and look identical on the shelf.
A restored haveli explaining block printing, with printers and block carvers working on site
The best half-hour available anywhere in the region for learning to tell hand printing from screen printing before spending money on either.
A merchant haveli of the early twentieth century, restored and opened as a museum
The restoration is heavy-handed in places, but it is the only Shekhawati haveli where the whole building — courtyards, frescoes, rooms — can be seen in a maintained state rather than a decaying one.
A large haveli bought and conserved from 1998, run as a cultural centre
Conservation here was done by an outsider with her own money, which is both the reason it exists and a fair summary of why so little else in the belt has been saved.
Famous shops, markets and workshops in Dhundhar & Shekhawati, and what each is known for. (11)