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The Havelis: of Hadauti
The Havelis: of Hadauti
The Havelis
of Hadauti
Shikha Jain
adauti is one of the lesser explored The exquisite valley town of Bundi
A series of articles
on the ‘havelis’ of
Rajasthan.
H regions of Rajasthan, historically
ruled by the Hada clan of Rajputs.
It gets the name 'Hadavati or Hadauti' from
was the first capital of Hadauti in the
14th century. The capital was shifted to
Kota in the early 17th century. The
the Hada clan of Rajputs who gained con- urban morphology of the hill and valley
trol of the region from the local Bhil and towns of Bundi and Kota responds to
Meena tribes in the 13th-14th centuries. the topography and shows winding
The present day region comprises of four streets on slopes and irregular plots
districts ie. Bundi, Kota, Jhalawar and with angles while the post 18th century
Baran. The significant historic towns in the mercantile settlements like Jhalawar
region include Bundi, Kota, Jhala war and and Jhalrapatan on the plains have well
Jhalrapatan. defined square or rectangular plots
was from the northern region of Kashmir. dents from the renowned Patwa family of locals still identify themselves with
Three brothers of the family are still Jaisalmer. Several temple havelis are also regions of Malwa.
residing in the haveli and the traditional present with the most architecturally sig- The city of Jhalawar was formerly
rajtilak of the Rajput ruler family is still nificant being the Chote Mathuradheesh called Brij Nagar. It houses the City Palace
done by the oldest son of this family. The ki Haveli. The ground floor is used as a and Rang Mahal and a number of inter-
haveli was built in three phases. An inter- temple and the upper floors as resi- esting havelis. The principal entrance of
esting bridge (like the Chahtta found in dences. The Chabrawalon ki Haveli the Palace is in the center of eastern side,
old houses of Madhya Pradesh region) belonged to KeshoRamji who was a approached by a principal street or
links the terrace of the adjoining extend- mahajan jagirdar. He held an imortant Bazzar running on the East -West axis.
ed haveli called Bade Devta ka Nohra. post with the ruling family. His descen- The walled town has few important
The inner room on the first floor of this dents are still residing in the haveli. The havelis like the Chatra Bhavan, Jhala Haveli
haveli has very interesting paintings of haveli was constructed in late 19th cen- and Bohron Ki Haveli. Shri Chatra Bhavan
Kota-Bundi style. The Nohra in the tury. The family belonged to a small vil- belonged to the Chatra Sal Singh Jhala
annexe area was built later to accommo- lage called Chabra from where they from the royal family of Jhalas. Unlike,
date the family of one of the brothers of moved to Shergarh and finally to Kota. most Rajput havelis found in Rajasthan,
Bade Devta. Currently this potion is rent- this is a single court haveli with kitchen
ed out to a school. JHALAWAR HAVELIS located on the first floor. The remnants of
The Zalim Singh Jhala House is a During the Mughal period Jhalawar was kitchen such as the 'okhli' for making
magnificent Rajput palatial haveli with included in the Subah of Malwa and 'masala' (spices) are still evident on the first
several courts. This huge fortress like Raghav Dev Jhala received this pargana floor. A well is located in the annexe area at
haveli belongs to the family of Zalim in jagir in 1420 A.D. It literally means back of the haveli. Another haveli belong-
Singh Jhala - the founder of Jhalawar. The the land of 'Jhalas' who were the ruling ing to the family of Jhala Rajputs is the
haveli is locked to a large extent and Rajput clan. Jhalawar region was Jhala Haveli. They served as aides to the
deteriorating with few portions being formed as a separate principality from ruler and were known as saath khazis. The
used as government offices. It again has Kota by the descendents of Zalim Singh haveli was built in 1840 A.D. For sometime
significant paintings in several areas. The in 1838 A.D. It was linked with the rulers the haveli was occupied by Fauz Bakshi (a
walled town of Kota also houses the of Kota from 1801-1838 A.D. Although Muslim Commander) who made a masjid
Daan Malji Bapna Haveli, belonging to a now it is categorized in the Hadoti there. The family had moved from Kota to
Marwari Nagar seth who are descen- region with Kota and Bundi, but the Jhlrapatan and finally to Jhalawar. Their kul