Around Agra

Friday, 20 September 2014

The Taj Mahal is closed on Friday, so today we toured the "ghost city" of Fatehpur Sikri and Agra Fort. But before I get to those subjects, here are some quick shots of life in Agra.

I'll start with livestock.

Pigs rooting through garbage and trash on the street.
While not unheard of, pigs are not as common as cows, buffalo, and goats.

A ceremonial cow. Note the cow/buffalo dung drying on the concrete pipe.

While not seen in Vapi, drying cattle dung for fuel is common throughout India. I cringe when I see women collecting fresh dung with bare hands and putting it in a bucket. Yes, those are handprints in the cow patties. (Of course, in Vapi, it just dries in the street and gets crushed and turned into to dust by vehicles. So maybe it's actually better to dry it for later use.)

Let's move on to vehicles.

Agra is a center for shoe manufacturing. Here empty boxes are being delivered by cycle transport.

Food vendors come up to buses and trains to see street food. No need to disembark to get your lunch.

And finally, some Rollinson family pics.

Shopping for marble art. The descendants of the workers on the Taj Mahal still ply their craft in Agra.

Waiting for our van to take us to supper.