-: By Ayushi Kumari
Abstract
Ramgarh, popularly known as the City of Poddars or Sethans, is situated in the Sikar district of Rajasthan. Marked by a harsh climate due to the proximity to the Thar Desert, Ramgarh has been famous for its Havelis and fresco paintings. Walking into the main marketplace, one could easily find a series of lofty Havelis touching the sky. The history of Ramgarh and how each of its Havelis and Chhatris came into existence will be discussed in this article. Emphasis will be put on the Shekhawati School of Painting and its manifestation on the Haveli walls of Ramgarh.
Keywords: Poddars, Ramgarh, Frescoes
The City of Poddars-Ramgarh, nestled secretly in the vast lands of Shekhawati, is today one of the main tourist spots all because of its rich heritage and interesting development story. As per the legends, the princess of Sikar was married to the king of Churu. When she saw that Churu was not as big as Sikar, she got angry and asked her husband to do something. The king of Churu sent his soldiers out at night and got the Bahi-khatas of the Sikar ruler stolen. Hearing this, the poddars (merchants) of Sikar got furious. They were discontent for a long time due to high taxes and now this theft enraged them. To calm them down and to restore peace in his kingdom, the ruler of Sikar met the Churu king asking him what he wanted in return for the Bahi-khatas. The Churu king smartly replied that he wanted a city for himself and his people where he would be the supreme king (even above the king of Sikar) and this place would be excluded from the jurisprudence of the ruler of Sikar. Granting the request, Ramgarh was created which was further settled down by the previously discontented Poddars who just wanted an escape. The region of Ramgarh was previously called Nasa ki dhani or the place of intoxication as opium was grown here. Also, this place used to be the center of Dacoits. After settling down, the poddars of Ramgarh became friends with these dacoits striking the beginning of a symbiotic relationship in which Dacoits protected the poddars and Poddars protected the Dacoits in return.
As Ramgarh was settled primarily by Sethans and merchants, it became known as sethon ka sehar or the city of Sethas. All the Havelis of Ramgarh had been built by these sethans or Poddars. To gain the title of a true Setha, one had to fulfill seven responsibilities, some of them being- Building a school, a dharmashala, a goshala, and a temple. The front gate of a haveli is the manifestation of the reality of the sethas exposing whether they succeeded in gaining the status of true merchants. The number of layers in the first gate shows how many things were built by the setha and in case this number is seven then that haveli belongs to a true Poddar or Setha. The number of layers of bird-like depictions hanging on the door points towards the number of generations that lived in that haveli. The Havelis were divided into two parts and this arrangement was called Do Chowk ki Haveli (Haveli with two Courtyards). The first courtyard was the outer courtyard which was dominated by men and used to have a seating arrangement. Careful analysis of the outer courtyard would reveal the playful nature of frescoes with nude and sexual depictions being made on the walls. Entering the Inner courtyard which marked the territory of women, one would first encounter a Poli. Poli was the first room that one would see when entering the inner haveli. This room was made for the elderly of the house and every single person coming to the haveli for any personal or professional work had to meet the elderly. Poli used to have an arrangement of toilets too. The inner courtyard used to bring one into the world of devotion and worship. The Frescoes here depict Rasleela or different incarnations of Gods. No nude would be found here. The Center of the haveli would be an open courtyard surrounded by rooms on all sides. Stairs could be found on two sides of a haveli leading to the roof of the haveli.
For fresco painting, the technique of Alagila was used in which the wall was first covered with a layer of lime and then colors were put on the layer of wet lime to ensure cohesion and smooth coloring. The colours used in these paintings were made naturally with some like purple colour being transported from outside. It is because of this reason that the use of Purple color is found in the buildings built later and not before.
Besides Havelis, Ramgarh is famous for its Chhatris. A chhatri is built to commemorate the death of a setha and Ramgarh has some of the most magnificent Chhatris ever built. Chhatri is an amalgamation of dome-shaped structures with staircases leading to the top of a chhatri where one can find numerous depictions depending upon the interest of the resting sethas. Every Chhatri used to have a Shivalaya on its ground floor showing the prevalence of Shaivism in Ramgarh. Engravings of Lord Ganesha are found on almost every front door of Ramgarh. Other than these, a kirti stambh is installed in the front of the chhatris. This kirti stambh would have four sides, with two sides depicting Sun and Moon while the other two showing some mythological creatures like the magical cow Kamdhenu!
The frescoes of Ramgarh mainly cover Hindu Mythological stories like that of Vishnu Dashavtar (ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu) or Mahabharat and Ramayan depictions. Lord Harihar’s motifs are also painted with half of his body shown blue and the other half depicting maa Ganga coming out from the head of Lord Shiva. Other than these, ragamala paintings are also famous in the frescos. Raagmala paintings depict different Ragas and melodies through colors and other details. In raga mala paintings, each raga is personified as a man, paired with a wife (Ragini) and having daughters(ragputris) and sons(ragputras). These paintings aim to show the season or the time in which these ragas are sung. In Ramgarh, Ragamala paintings were depicted through the means of sethas and poddars who were shown getting engaged in different works according to the singing of ragas.
Legendary stories like that of Dhola Maru were also painted to let the people reconnect with their folktales. Besides all these, with the coming of foreign influences like the Britishers, the frescoes also changed their forms. In the early 20th Century, Cycles, guns, and cars were shown in the paintings. Even the dress of the sethas was changed with some of them shown wearing boots!
Other than frescoes, Ramgarh is surprisingly unique in its wells’ architecture. The wells of Ramgarh are classified into two types- Female kua (well) and male kua(well). A female kua has only two towers and is somehow covered from the outside facilitating the traditional practices of purdah whereas the Male Kua has four towers and is open from all its sides.
Temples of Ramgarh also have their own uniqueness. The Vedic temple of Ramgarh is the only temple where one of the four Vedas (Yajurveda) is worshipped. Ganga Maiya temple is another temple where the depiction of Shiva ling and the complete fertilization process is shown. A sperm-like engraving is shown entering the vaginal linings of the depiction. The Khemka Shani temple is one of the most astonishing temples of Ramgarh. Here, Belgian glass is used to fill in the colors of depictions. The temple was built in the mid-19th century by the wealthy Khemka merchant family who had now migrated to Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
Earlier when Ramgarh was the center of the Silk Route, it emerged as one of the most lavish cities of India attracting foreign merchants from all sides. The auctioned Haveli goods of Ramgarh are rich proof of the regular interaction between the Poddars or Ruias of Ramgarh and the Britishers. However, this interaction pattern changed when the British started focusing on port cities. Slowly, cities like Kolkata and Bombay became the main focus point, fascinating the merchants of Ramgarh with better lifestyles and prosperity. This led to large-scale migration from Ramgarh to the cities of Kolkata and Bombay leading to large-scale demographic change. This migration is the reason behind the prevalence of the Poddar surname in Bengal. Ultimately this sudden departure of merchants made Ramgarh fall into ruins. Many Havelis lost their lives with their owners now settled far away. As these Havelis were private properties, even the government could not come forward for restoration work. Some influential people who migrated are now trying to get attached to their roots. Shree Laxmanji who belongs to Ramgarh and lives in Mumbai has written a book on Ramgarh named “Apno Ramgarh(our Ramgarh) so that people will become aware of this place. Mrs Shruti Nada Poddar whose ancestors belonged to Ramgarh is actively participating in publicising the heritage of Ramgarh. Today the people living in Ramgarh are generally employed in small-scale businesses. Due to the lack of resources and time, they have stopped maintaining their buildings. Because of the lack of understanding and communication between the locals and the government, Ramgarh is not able to tap its potential to the fullest. Despite being part of one of the world’s biggest open art galleries, Ramgarh is still hidden amid desolation waiting to be found and given its due share of recognition!
References-
1.https://www.ijfmr.com/papers/2023/2/2668.pdf
2.https://oldror.lbp.world/UploadedData/11163.pdf
4.https://www.dailypioneer.com/2024/sunday-edition/reclaiming-history-brick-by-brick.html
5.https://youtu.be/UzfIOZ4xeVo?si=0PblCcK6Uq89u2A4
