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Patwon Ji Ki Haveli

A haveli is a traditional townhouse, mansion, manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word haveli is derived from Arabic hawali, meaning "partition" or "private space", popularised under the Mughal Empire, and was devoid of any architectural affiliations. Later, the word haveli came to be used as a generic term for various styles of regional mansions, manor houses, townhouse found in the Indian subcontinent.

The havelis in and around Jaisalmer Fort (also known as the Golden Fort), situated in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, of which the three most impressive are Patwon Ki Haveli, Salim Singh Ki Haveli, and Nathmal-Ki Haveli, deserve special mention. These were the elaborate homes of Jaisalmer's rich merchants. The ostentatious carvings, etched in sandstone with great detail and then painstakingly pieced together in lavish patterns, were commissioned to put on show the owner's status and wealth. Around Jaisalmer, they are typically carved from yellow sandstone. They are often characterized by wall paintings, frescoes, jharokhas (balconies) and archways.

Entering Patwon Ji Ki Haveli.
The Patwon Ji ki Haveli was the first erected in Jaisalmer.

  • It is not a single haveli but a cluster of five small havelis.

Kothari's Patwa Haveli.
The first in the row is the most popular, and is also known as Kothari's Patwa Haveli.

  • Commissioned and constructed in the year 1805 by Guman Chand Patwa, then a rich trader of jewellery and fine brocades, it is the biggest and the most ostentatious of the five.
  • Patwa was a rich man and a renowned trader of his time and he could afford and thus order the construction of separate stories for each of his five sons. These were completed in a span of 50 years. All five houses were constructed in the first 60 years of the 19th century.

Intricate yellow sandstone-carved jharokhas (balconies).
Patwon Ji Ki is renowned for its ornate wall paintings, intricate yellow sandstone-carved jharokhas (balconies), gateways and archways.

  • Although the building itself is made from yellow sandstone, the main gateway is brown.

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Source

Location

Location: WW87+JP8, Amar Sagar Pol, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan 345001, India