Road to Agra - Barbara’s take

 

So?  Where were we?

We were in Delhi and now we’re going to Agra to see the Taj!!

After another late night, hurried dinner and sleep till 4 or 5, Terre and I packed and repacked trying to get all the things we had purchased into our bags and checked our room for any left-behinds.  Our driver, Mr Jagmohan was waiting for us at the door and we loaded with not a little sadness at leaving Delhi – a complete opposite to Debrugarh but just as wonderful!  We are really going to see the Taj Mahal!!

It took about 1 and a half hours to get completely out of the city and into the farming district.  They grow wheat, sugar cane, peas and mustard (for the oil) there as well as various kinds of nuts and beans. 

The poorer people collect cow patties and dry them for fuel much like the buffalo chips in our ‘Old West’.  Of course there are many cows wandering around – some buffalo and perhaps Oxen.

It was hard to distinguish the difference between cows used for labour, milk or the sacred ones that are owned by all and wander freely everywhere!  Many, many cows, goats, dogs, cows, sheep, cows, small horses, elephants, camels, and did I mention cows?  (we only have pictures of everything else – not cows):

Horse and cart;

Camels with and without loads;

 

Elephant – not a worker though – maybe a ceremonial one.  It had facial decorations and patterns on the ends of his ears!.

We noticed these peculiar round huts in the fields of wheat and also closer to the road.  Interestingly the roofs were a continuation of the grass/bamboo/reed walls which went in a twist to the top!  The ones in the photos below are very well kept up – a lot of them are old and half falling down.  We think they are for storage but they could also be lived in by the field workers.

We also asked the driver (Mr. Jagmohan – more on him later) we were told the history of these “mileage markers”.  About 500 years ago when the Moghul King Akbar moved his palace from Agra to Delhi, he built these markers every 20 kilometres to make a way station so the riders could rest and, we presume the horses or camels or whatever.  Unlike the Pony Express, both horses and riders were changed at the markers; then changed back to carry the reply.  As you can see they are in remarkable good condition even now.  We saw many, some in the fields and others close to the road thus marking the changes in the main route over the years!

The traffic was horrific!  If there were 3 lanes painted on the road then there were 5 lanes of traffic.  If there were 2 lanes then there were 3 to 4 lanes of traffic.  By ‘traffic’ I mean little 3 wheels cars called Tuk Tuks because the the noise they make (there are two in the photo of the camel pulling the load of wheat) They are legally only holding 6 people but we saw as many as 12 packed in with kids hanging on the outside, ordinary cars, motor cycles and scooters (at least 3 people to a machine with an infant crammed in the front or being held by its mother), bicycles and rickshaws and the ubiquitous cows, dogs, horses and camels!  What a circus!  Everyone is blowing their horns constantly – I think there is a horn language but hadn’t got it really nailed down by the time we left!

We stopped along the way at a place where Mr. Jagmohan had to pay a tax.  He said to stay in the car.  Do not roll down the windows.  So we did and didn’t.  The car was swarmed by little kids trying to sell us tacky souvenirs and men with trained monkeys who lept up onto the car.  Terre took a photo of one who jumped onto the window beside her to she snapped a photo.  The man kept yelling at us to pay.  We tried to ignore him but he got considerably angrier till Mr. Jagmohan came back and asked if we took a photo!  We said well, you didn’t tell us not to!  So we paid the man 10 rupees (25 cents) and he went away happy.  I guess you have to pay to take a photo even if you had nothing to do with the fact there was a monkey hanging onto the window of the car!

Other tipping were the toilet attendants, the door holders, the baggage handlers, don’t give money to kids, their parents just take it for drugs.  At every traffic light the “tourist” cars were surrounded by beggars – one of our guides call it the “Traffic Light Industry”.  I gave a couple of girls a granola bar through the window once – not the wisest thing I ever did!  We were swarmed again but not by cell phones taking pictures!  Our driver had to use (I assume) very strong language to get them away!

That’s it for now – I’ll let Terre talk about Sikandra – The tomb of King Akbar, the Agra Fort designed and built by Akbar, and the Taj Mahal.