A walk in Agra
- Glenn Dobbs
- Apr 17, 2019
- 2 min read
February 6, 2019 -
“......becoming attached to a country involves pressing, uncomfortable questions about justice and opportunity for its least powerful citizens.” - Katherine Boo, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
Agra is a city of around 1.5 million people. While much bigger than Indianapolis, it is 1/20th the size of Delhi. If it were not for the Taj Mahal there would be little reason to travel here. When the Mughal Emperors left here and the capital moved to Delhi, the place became a backwater known for heavy industry and air pollution. Yet Fodor’s writes, “There is great beauty here among the ashes....”.
We found that to be true today.
We took a walk, trying to avoid the Tuk Tuk drivers and just take in the city. The above picture is a colorfully arrayed group of women receiving a blessing from a Hindu holy man and some rice. The colors were amazing against the muddy street.
The above picture shows one of the ubiquitous cows in the street with traffic moving around them. They are everywhere here and since they are considered holy no one touches them. So as we visited the shops we found numerous leather stores (a specialty here). Colleen asked the obvious question. “Where do they get that leather?”
The third shot is of Agra Fort. An UNESCO World Heritage Sight, it was a Palace for several Mughal Emperors including Shah Jahan. He was the great builder in India and his greatest triumph was the Taj Mahal. He would be imprisoned here by his rebellious son and would die in a room where his only window looked out on the Taj.
The final shot is where we had lunch. It is called Sheroes Hangout. It is a community that supports women who have been victims of acid attacks. We had the chance to meet some of them. They are beautiful and courageous. A very moving afternoon.
You can learn more about them and donate if you wish to a very good cause at www.Sheroeshangout.com
Just another day in India.
コメント