What we got wrong repairing the frescoes

For two years we cleaned the paintings with the wrong things and sealed them with cement plaster, which traps damp behind the surface and lifts it off in sheets. A conservator in Jaipur showed us the damage and taught us lime. An honest account of what we destroyed before we learned, because half the havelis in this town are being ruined the same way by owners who mean well.

Written from the verandah, with a cup of chai going cold.