The region of Shekhawati owes its name to Rao Shekha, who bestowed his name on his territory and his clan. Instead of creating a large kingdom, Shekha and his progeny carved a number of small fiefdoms that owed their fealty to Jaipur, though they managed to be fiercely independent. Also hailing from this region are the Marwaris, among India's pre-eminent mercantile communities that spread out across the nation in the 18th and 19th centuries, more often than not creating immense wealth wherever they went. Their newfound wealth was funnelled back to their hometowns in Shekhawati and used to build fabulous traditional townhouses, called havelis.
The merchants, often wealthier than the kings in whose courts they served, did not build or decorate opulently. They chose instead, to have frescoes painted on the walls of their homes. Soon, this mushroomed into a profusion that covered faades, interior walls, arches, ceilings and pillars, adorning every available surface and turning Shekhawati into a vast open-air art gallery that delights both the art lover and the accidental tourist.