The havelis of Jaisalmer are stunning impressions of past glory and nobility of Rajasthan, India. Salim Singh was the prime minister when Jaisalmer was the capital of a princely state and his mansion had a beautifully arched roof with superb carved brackets in the form of peacocks. The mansion was just below the hill and it is said, once it had two additional wooden storeys in an attempt to make it as high as the Maharaja's Palace. The Maharaja of Jaisalmer had the upper storeys turned down. The late 19th century Nathmal ki Haveli was also a prime minister's house. The left and right wings of the building were carved by brothers and are very similar but not identical. Yellow sandstone elephants guard the building and the front door alone is a work of art.
Along the cobbled stone pathways of Jaisalmer, arise the havelis, the mansions of the Jain merchants who were as powerful in the court at the time, as they were adept in business. Their homes are poetry of sandstone, carved and pierced incredibly into different patterns, and though they are opulent and effusive, the result is in perfect harmony and never offending the eye. Some of these havelis are more than 300 years old and are steeped in an enigmatic and musty old world charm.
