We left Delhi at 9.40 to relocate to Agra arriving here at approximately 2.00pm
When you are travelling you either watch the world go by or talk so it was an opportunity to learn some more about the life of our driver, Ashok.
Some titbits:
He is one of 3 brothers and a sister
His mother and father live with him and his wife and 2 daughters
His father had 12 acres of land which he has split into 3 4 acre lots
Each brother has one of those lots
He grows mustard and wheat
An acre of mustard will produce 1300 kgs of mustard seeds
A kg of seeds he sells on average for 70 rupees
Therefore per acre he earns 91000 rupees ($455)
He is adamant that his daughters will have arranged marriages - a love marriage is not to be contemplated
He will be required to pay a dowry for each on their marriage of 2,000,000 rupees
He sends his 2 daughters to private school at a cost of 30,000 rupees each a year
He has never been outside India “I’m a poor man, not a rich man”
How will he earn enough to pay for 2 dowries?
Which takes me back to what Mr T, our Chandni Chowk guide, said when talking about beggars - usually if the beggar is old there is a high likelihood that it has come about because they have sold everything, including their home, to fund a dowry, That is a sobering thought!
We had a lunch stop at a motorway “pit stop”
It was very clean and there were numerous choices of food.
Sherry rated the toilets a 10 on the 1-10 scale which she was thankful for having dreaded what may have awaited her.
As we travelled closer to Agra there were numerous brick works in one particular area, by numerous I estimate 25-30 from the number of kiln chimneys that we saw
There are 4 of
these in the above photo
When we left Delhi the air quality, regarded as notoriously bad had a reading today of 319, where 301+ on the air quality index is rated as Harzardous with most being affected, but here in Agra it has dropped to 118.
Having arrived and unpacked Ashok took us to an emporium where they are, allegedly, the only business in the country manufacturing artwork on marble using the Parchin Kari method (see subhashemporium.com). Some of their legacy pieces are stunning requiring upwards of 15 years to complete as everything is done by hand.
Dinner tonight was at Sheroes, a restaurant run by ladies who had been victims of an acid attack. I like the name they have chosen being a combo of She and heros
They show a 15 minute documentary where the women tell what happened to them. While they are seriously disfigured the restaurant has given them reason to “come out of hiding” and start to live useful lives - they are inspiring ladies!
There is no price put on their menu and you just pay what you feel the meal was worth which does allow you to support them financially by paying more than your best estimate of the actual price.
We were pleased that we could support them in a small way.
Initial thoughts on Agra can be summarised as Delhi is pristine in comparison to Agra hence the title of this post.
There are two main reasons one would come to Agra - the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort both of which we visit tomorrow.
Two videos today
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