A few weeks before, we already see the locals decorate their homes. The stores also illuminate their facades, taking advantage of this moment where the euphoria is mixed with the usual effervescence. As festive days approach, firecrackers resound in our neighborhood. We enjoy it from the roof of our building.
My friend invites me at his home in Agra. I go buy train tickets at the station and wander in old town on the return. The next day at 5:15, I reach the station near my home on foot. During the holiday season, the trains are crowded and the six hours of travel are not very comfortable. Shortly after leaving the station, a waiter passes by with tea, coffee and pastries. As often, the train is late, and my friend has been waiting for me at Agra station since 1:30.
We meet and buy flowers and sweets for the lakshmi puja at home. At home, the parents of my friend and his little sister warmly welcome me and invite me to nibble potato fries. I go for a nap in the room I have been assigned as I have to be in shape for the evening that awaits me. When I wake up, my friend was preparing the diya in a large metal tray.
Our mission is to put in each clay cup a cotton wick and a spoon of ghee or mustard oil. It's a very enjoyable activity. I discover things and the calm of the house makes me feel good. We lit all the candles and carried the tray outside to arrange them in the driveway. My friends sister decorates a colorful sand plateau welcoming guests. His mother offers us each a traditional outfit.
At prayer time we all sit around the temple of the home. It is a small reserved room, flanked by the living room, where an altar houses statues of deities, flowers, containers, rice, incense. Today, a plate filled with dried cow dung is deposited there. In turn, we proceed to the ritual of prayer. We dip the ring finger in a red pigment to mark statuettes, pieces and dung.
We then have some flowers in these same places, and we throw rice. Finally, we lift the cup of food and the glass of water, for a prosperous future. We play the game very seriously, without fully understanding the meaning. The guests arrive. I spend the evening with my friends uncle, his wife and children. We put chairs and benches in front of the house, and we take a seat to watch the family fireworks.
In this residential area, all the families are outside and each one has a little show. We stay there for a good half hour, then come back to enjoy the hearty meal. We have malai kofta, dal with cream and butter, and paratha. To end the feast, everyone begins to sing under the guidance of the aunt, a singing teacher. First reluctant to their solicitations, I still start.
The uncle beats the rhythm on the marble table, and the traditional songs in local languages are linked together. It is in this warm atmosphere that our evening Diwali ends at 2 am.
Day 2
The morning's sleep makes me miss the post Diwali prayer. I swallow a hearty breakfast at noon with cold milk, corn flakes and grilled bread. We plan to visit Fatehpur Sikri, located 40 km west of Agra. We leave around 9:45, with a full belly, in a auto rickshaw with my friend. It takes one hour to reach the fortified city.
We first visit the complex of palaces and pavilions built by the Mughal emperor Akbar in the late sixteenth century, to mark the new capital of his empire. He stayed there 14 years till he realize that here, the water is less drinkable than elsewhere. The sandstone buildings are separated by esplanades, courtyards and gardens.
They originally welcomed the wives, concubines and maidservants of the emperor. Tourists are numerous. We meet a couple of retirees who tell us about their upcoming visit to Jaipur. I also meet my friends uncle, who is a tour guide and gives us some information. Like most UNESCO sites, it's nice, clean and quiet.
Outside the compound, the Jama Masjid Mosque is worth a detour. We appreciate the free admission, but the street vendors are invasive. A white marble tomb is erected in the immense courtyard delimited by imposing buildings. It houses the body of the one who predicted the birth of an Akbar heir, a truth that initiated the construction of the capital.
We enjoy the view of the small town of Fatehpur as well as the Elephant Tower before joining the shuttle bus back. We return to Agra around 4, with the same auto rickshaw which waited for us. We are hungry and we have some specialties of South India and I eat greedily until saturation. I rest to digest until 9.
All together, we go to his uncle's place, to eat again as much as possible. At dinner, we quickly organize our next day. We spend a good time with the family, having fun with the uncle's jokes. We come back late, and we collapse on our mattresses.
Day 3
After lunch we visit Agra Fort, made with red sandstone. It is quite large and very well preserved too. During the occupation of the Mughals, they built fortifications and palaces, followed by the British. After the visit to the fort we go to the Sadar Bazar. It is destined for the local public and it is stressful no matter how chaotic it turned out to be.
We continue to the Taj Ganj, near the south gate of the Taj Mahal, where we read that there are many bars and restaurants that have terraces overlooking the most famous monument in India. When going through the main street the hunting-clients invite us to go up to the terraces. We tried one of them and upon reaching the top, the view is spectacular and of real luxury.
We take a few beers with the view of the Taj Mahal as it gets dark and the feeling is of total relaxation and peace. We are about to put on our back another of the wonders of the world and this makes us immensely happy. Late at night we dined on the same terrace and then returned to the hotel.
Day 4
Today we will visit the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri, which is 36 km from Agra and to go we will take a local bus. After breakfast we left the hotel and stopped a tuk-tuk to take us to the bus station of Idgah and from there the bus to the abandoned city. Once at the bus station we took out the tickets. And they indicate the bus number we should take.
As soon as we see it, we cannot believe it. It is pure scrap metal. It sounds like a loose sheet and it emits smoke like a steam locomotive, and this is idling waiting for the time of departure. Several more tourists are assembled and we all look at each other. Surely we all think, where have we got to? But they are a few more tourists, who may already be used to these buses.
The truth, at first is that we wanted to get off but we thought here we have to endure whatever it takes. The bus starts and all the way it was impossible to have a conversation without shouting and air conditioning. All the windows and the door remain open for air to enter.
We left at 09:30 from Agra and arrived at the city of Fatehpur Sikri at 10:45. It takes one hour and fifteen minutes to make 36 km. On the road there was a lot of traffic. Cows, of course are everywhere. They go their way and do not flinch, for nothing. We cross the village of Kiraoli and the road is muddy where the smartest passes first. The driver of the bus does not slow down and is splashing mud all and everything.
We continue and arrive at Fatehpur Sikri without any problem. We get off the bus and walk about 500 meters along the main street, which is also a bazaar full of shops and stops for all kinds of products. Near the end of the street there is a climb and at the end of this is the abandoned city.
After entering, a fellow connects well. He tells us that he is not a guide and that he works in the abandoned city to help tourists and he will guide us without charging us anything. We do not believe it, but we think that it will not hurt a guided tour and when we finish we will negotiate the tip, which he will surely ask for.
The truth is that the guide was perfectly knowledgeable of the city. We were with him for about two hours. He guide us all and explained the whole history of it. After the visit, he accompanies us to a corner where there is a stop for souvenirs. Now we understand, he will try to sell us something and his benefit will be, we assume, the commission to compensate for the work of the visit.
After taking a look at the souvenirs we saw a few that we liked and we started negotiations. In the end we brought back memories for all the family and friends, and we left with full backpacks. This time we were able to look calmly and buy what we liked. As there is some more palace outside the main enclosure and it is still early we continue to contemplate and visit these buildings.
At one point we are surrounded by five or six vendors with a lot of souvenirs and insist that we buy them. We tell them that we have already bought everything and we do not need anything else. We show them the full backpacks to be believed but they keep insisting without ceasing to surround us.
They follow us and insist that we buy from them. We say no again but they keep following us until we stop without paying attention to them to see if they leave. There is nothing to do as they insist but we continue to ignore them. During the rest of the visit we did not see any more.
It is time to return and going the reverse way we return to the bus station. If the outbound bus was pure scrap, this one was a bit more. It was more dilapidated but it made the same noise as the outward one. Back to Agra we find the same thing as the traffic and chaos but we already take it another way. We have passed the test and we are cured of fright.
We arrive in Agra, go to eat and then to the hotel to rest. Once rested we left the hotel and taking a walk we arrived at Tajganj. We went up to the terrace of the bar that we already knew and we relaxed totally seeing again the sunset with the Taj Mahal in the background. We feel happy in spite of everything.
It's time to eat, so we went to a restaurant. We ordered several typical dishes like naan, chicken tikka and mutton biryani. Of course, first the bread, naan, in different versions, of garlic, cheese and spices. and took a night walk to see the area. We decided to return to the hotel.
Upon arriving at the hotel we went up to the room and decided to enjoy the pool facilities. And what a wonder when the waiter brings them us presents us with some typical snacks. We have dinner and go to bed, as the day go by and a new day full of new adventures awaits us.Tomorrow we will dedicate the whole morning to the Taj Mahal and we do not want to miss any corner.
... At 8:15, we leave the house to reach the bus that takes us to Jaipur in 5 hours. We return home filled with the warm welcome we have been given. We are refreshed like after a weekend in our families.
Great commentary. And that first image is stunning!
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