Colour news
FestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTomโ€™s Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game SetCraft and textilesThe Souls I (Grafix Gold, Topaz, Chilli Red) (2010) by Damien Hirst - For SaleCraft and textilesBalenciaga Spring/Summer2027 Runway Dips Into ColourFestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTomโ€™s Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game SetCraft and textilesThe Souls I (Grafix Gold, Topaz, Chilli Red) (2010) by Damien Hirst - For SaleCraft and textilesBalenciaga Spring/Summer2027 Runway Dips Into Colour
Rang

The open-air gallery of Rajasthan

Shekhawati

Merchant mansions in the towns of north Rajasthan are covered inside and out with painted murals.

Front Facade View of Shahpura House, Shekhawati, Rajputana Haveli which is former Residence of Shahpura Royal Family
Photo: Digrajsingh, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Why Shekhawati is fresco red

Shekhawati is a dry region of north-eastern Rajasthan. Its Marwari merchants grew rich on trade and, from the 18th century to the early 20th, built mansions called havelis in towns such as Mandawa, Nawalgarh and Fatehpur. They had the walls painted from top to bottom. Early murals used earth and mineral colours: red and yellow ochre, lamp black, lime white and indigo. From the later 19th century imported synthetic blues and reds became common. Subjects range from Krishna and the Ramayana to trains, motor cars and men in European hats. Many families moved to Kolkata and Mumbai, and a number of havelis stand empty and faded. Others have been restored as museums and hotels.

Fresco red#A8432FFresco blue#3D6FA5Yellow ochre#D6A645Lime plaster white#EFE8D8

Values are fair approximations of what the eye sees there, not measurements.

Colours tied to Shekhawati

OchreA natural earth pigment ranging from yellow to deep orange or brownIndigoA deep blue dye from plants, now mostly made synthetically and known for colouring denim
About this page

Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Shekhawati" on Wikipedia. If you know Shekhawati and we have it wrong, tell us.

More colour cities

All colour cities
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ The Blue CityJodhpurOld-city houses washed in blue crowd the foot of Mehrangarh Fort, on the edge of the Thar Desert.๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ The Pink CityJaipurThe walled city wears a dusty terracotta pink, first painted on for a royal visit in 1876 and kept ever since.๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ The White CityUdaipurWhite palaces and whitewashed houses stand around lakes in the Aravalli hills of southern Rajasthan.๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ The Golden CityJaisalmerA fort and town built of yellow sandstone that glows like honey at sunset, deep in the Thar Desert.๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ City of saffron and lightVaranasiSaffron robes, marigold garlands and oil lamps colour the river steps of one of the oldest living cities.๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ Town of Holi coloursVrindavanFor Holi the temple town of Krishna's childhood fills with clouds of pink, yellow and green powder.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly palette

Every Monday: seven colours you may not know, what the world is wearing this week, and one idea about colour.