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.
...Day 6
Fate caused us to attend a wedding in Agra. Here we tell you about our experiences and what we know about what they told us about how marriages work here. You will see that there are missing photos. It was not our plan to attend a wedding and we went out to dinner with the little battery we had left after visiting the Taj Mahal.
That afternoon it was very hot, and the tiredness was felt because that morning we woke up 4:30 to see the sunrise at the Taj Mahal. The fan could hardly spin, and the little air it threw was hot. The flies fluttered as if the heat stimulated them.
Suddenly we started to hear drum noises. Great noise came from the street. We used our few strengths to go out and see what happened. We saw a man mounted on horseback and dressed in luxurious clothes and a distinctive turban. I was surrounded by several people. All celebrating and all dressed in their best clothes. The boys were not missing. People looked out on the street to say hello. The car honked. And ahead the musical band was going, making its way through the street.
The boy who worked at the Guest House told us that it was a wedding and the one who was riding a horse was the groom. Those who accompanied him were his family and friends. And they were going to the place where the ceremony was going to take place.
So we saw the caravan go by and we returned to our position of oppressive heat to prostrate below the fan. We started talking about the desire we had to be invited to a wedding. The idea of getting even more into the local culture is always present. Although people are very open and invite us to the house, we need one more step. We need to experience a day as a local. We were never more than 20 days in the same city. And to get in full you need more. You need to live in that place.
But returning to the subject of marriage, we were attracted first by a matter of rarity and difference, and second because it is an important social event. The relationships of families are played. It is about the arranged marriages, the dowry, and that the girl stops living with her maternal house. She goes to live in the house of her husband, where also live his parents, brothers, cousins and nephews.
With those concerns, we went out to dinner. As if we had not foreseen the destination of the night we went out with the perspiration of the whole day on our backs. There were only 50 meters that made us notice that the big event was held around our room.
As one who accelerates the pace, almost marching but without jogging, we hurry to see what happened that hot afternoon in Agra. From the sidewalk, in front, we see the same groom with luxurious clothes standing on a small pedestal surrounded by people and musicians. A lady approaches, her mother perhaps, and she begins to recite some words while she surrounds him. At the same time, he waves a few incenses. Many cameras and cell phones captured the moment. Stealthily we are approaching to be a few meters away from the groom. After the small ritual of greeting on the street, the groom and the guests proceed to enter what would be the outdoor lounge. We still doubted whether or not to take the camera. The guests kept coming in but now they were signaling us to come in too. Almost laughing, and without hesitation, we went inside.
Once inside the room, already as official guests to the wedding (the groom had also made gestures for us to enter) the groom's brother approaches. He lived in Calcutta. He introduces us to his family and invites us to feel free and comfortable, to eat and drink everything we want and to ask him all the necessary questions. He warns us, too, that the bride would arrive in about two hours and that at midnight it would be the nuptial ceremony.
From then on, the evening to night was not the same for us. We were in the middle of a wedding! And we had not sneaked in, we were invited. We also knew that we would not go unnoticed. They all stared at us not only because our clothes were not the right ones. At the party people came first to greet the groom (the bride had not yet arrived) and then to us.
The food deserves a separate paragraph. There were tents around, like a fair, each with a different meal. Some sweets, others salty. There was also fruit. But there was not a single drop of alcohol. The meals were of the most varied. Some we had tried but others were totally new for us or maybe we had seen them and we did not dare to taste it.
People chased us around the room to bring us food. At certain times we had 3 or 4 different plates of food in hand (which had been brought to us different people). We juggled so they do not fall to the floor. But nevertheless they kept bringing us more. We were full, but we did not want to be discourteous. We ate mango ice cream, with a portion of fruit and some balls of potato with sauce plus a glass of soda, all together and at the same time. People greeted us and immediately asked us if we had eaten. Although we said yes, we were full, something they bought or ordered us to bring. Even the waiters were warned that they should be vigilant that we do not run out of drinks. In addition to the tent with the different food stalls there was a space for tables and chairs. They were not the famous tables assigned to which we were accustomed, but they were long tables for about 20 or 30 people. People sat down in batches and they served what would be the main course. All we had eaten were just the appetizers or the desserts.
After wandering among tables, guests and food dishes we realized that people, as they were eating, were approaching the podium where the ceremony would take place. Once in that sector ,they did not offer us more food. There the musicians rested.
We kept being social when we see that the musicians go towards the door of the property. The bride was about to enter. With camera in hand and with background music, the bride entered the room escorted by two more women and some children (perhaps her sisters and nephews). The brightness of her face and clothes dazzled. She wore a beautiful sari with all hand embroidered, many rings, bracelets and the typical henna drawings on her hands and feet. We seemed to gawk at her. And, she smiled inside, looked out of the corner of her eye. We could tell she was nervous, that all our looks made her uncomfortable. We remained attentive to her and the situation. We looked at her and we thought it would go through her head. Would she want to get married?
Walking with her and the musicians we approached the podium where the groom (who seemed to double in age) was waiting for her. They greet each other and place some necklaces with natural flowers as a symbol of mutual acceptance. Then they sit in an armchair that until that moment had been the setting for all the children at the party. This will remain for hours while all the guests of the party pass one by one to take a picture with them.
It would be ten o'clock at night and everything was the same. People ate and the couple were smiling for the photos. We kept being social. The nephews of the groom (three brothers of our age) were our accomplices in the party. With them we chatted and asked them those questions that we had in mind. But we were tired. That day we had got up at 4:30 to see the sunrise at the Taj Mahal. Time passed and more than an hour was left for the ceremony. People were starting to leave. We too, the next day had train early in the morning.
Both the couple and us all ended that day tired but knowing that it was a unique and special day for different reasons.
... 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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