The frescoed façade of Malji Ka Kamra, Churu

A hundred years of standing still

A house built for pleasure alone

Raised in the 1920s in the heart of Churu, painted the colour of new leaves and covered wall to ceiling in frescoes. Fourteen rooms, one family, and a hundred years at the same address.

Portrait of Maharaja Ganga Singh Ji of Bikaner — **Maharaja Ganga Singh Ji**of Bikaner, 1880-1943

Portrait of Malji Kothari, who built the haveli — **Malji Kothari**Merchant and pulse doctor, who built the house

The merchant, the Maharaja and the house between them

Malji Ka Kamra was built in the 1920s by Malji Kothari, one of the richest merchants of Churu, renowned as a pulse doctor and a lover of art. Fascinated by Indo-European architecture, he raised a guest house that combines Italian art deco, Mughal doors and Shekhawati frescoes telling stories of gods, Maharajas, European soldiers and angels.

Maharaja Ganga Singh Ji of Bikaner, the desert ruler who brought prosperity to the region through the Ganga Canal, stayed here on his journeys to Churu. A merchant's private folly became a favoured retreat for a remarkable ruler, and it remains one of the city's best-loved heritage houses.