There isn’t much written about Churu in popular sources. When I was going there, I thought - okay, maybe there are a few pretty havelis.
But it turned out, Churu has a decent old town area, and the number of painted havelis is in the dozens - they are literally everywhere. Sharing my shots taken mostly on October 7, 2025, with a few from the following days.
Most of these mansions are in poor condition, and that creates a special atmosphere of age and transience.
Like strolling in an open-air century-old gallery, abandoned by its organizers and artists long ago.
The style of the frescoes echoes local Indian traditions,
as well as Persian miniatures and
even European naive art.
The frescoes tell the stories of the rich merchants and bankers from Churu and nearby towns, but they also show the world of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
For example, the image above depicts British monarchs and is a copy from a photograph for accuracy (as a passerby told me).
And in Churu, you can also see a lot of old woodcarving. Some of these pieces are 200 years old or more.
Let’s take a coffee break, lol.
Traveling wouldn’t be complete without talking to the locals - even if they don’t speak English.
This man led me to a coffee seller and started chatting with me in Hindi. Everyone had a good laugh.
Other men of Churu, who invited me to take their picture. Charismatic guys!
Let’s head back into the alleys in search of frescoes and other experiences.
Sometimes havelis are just buildings along narrow streets.
Other havelis look like stand-alone palaces, and simple people sometimes live in them.
They may ask for an entrance fee, but everywhere.
The fresco scenes don’t repeat, and some of them are faded or crumbling.
So walking through the streets of Churu, you feel like an explorer - and a little like an archaeologist too.
Look at this wonderful train I found! It feels like opening a medieval Eastern book and suddenly discovering a sign of the industrial age.
But life goes on, people need somewhere to live, and countless frescoes have already either crumbled or been covered with posters, paint, or whitewash.
Speaking of painters - look at what a wonderful one this is.
A walk through the old town means a continuous flow of interactions with the locals.
Sometimes someone asks you to take their picture, like these teenagers on a motorbike above and pastry sellers below, and in the case of the painter, it was the owner of a little grocery shop who suggested photographing him, lol.
Churu is a small city, or as one local told, "a village", where foreigners don’t visit often. In October, during several days in Churu, I didn’t see a single person of European or East Asian descent with backpacks and cameras. So all the attention fell on me. On the first day, I was thrilled - I’m actually a big performer - expressive face, gestures, theatrical intonations. But I’m also an introvert, and by the second day, I started feeling stressed, lol. I stayed for six days, then left for Bikaner, a bigger city, where I’ll probably get a bit less attention, a chance to rest from being a star in the streets, lol.
The photos were taken with a Nikkor 50mm on a full-frame DSLR Nikon D750 in October 2025, in Churu, Rajasthan, India.