Actually my quest was for steam railway lore. This train motif suited the folksy artists since the haveli's horizontal spaces could be filled with trainloads of passengers in a lively frieze. Some of the activities on board the carriages are of erotic interest but one dare not spell them out in this age of the censorious lest one suffers—as many have already suffered—the fate of obliteration by the philistine lobby of prudes.
Ramnath Goenka started out of his haveli at Mandawa and G.D. Birla, likewise empty-handed, risked his reputation by travelling from Pilani to make his pile. But the challenge of their semi-desert terrain brought out the best in these Marwari families (actually from Shekhawati) and the visitor can only marvel at the diligence and sheer force of character that enabled them to overcome the odds. The wall paintings are delectable but won't survive many more seasons of neglect.
