Reading the painted wall

Begin with the lintel. A haveli's lintel is its title page — Ganesh almost always, but the company he keeps is the merchant's signature.

Move next to the spandrels. The merchants of Shekhawati had seen Calcutta and Bombay; sometimes they had seen London. The spandrels carry their travelogues: a biplane, a steam engine, a queen.

Inside the gate, look up. The most expensive pigments — lapis, vermillion — are reserved for the inner courtyard, where guests would never quite reach the family quarters.