Agra to Jaipur

January 28, 2012

Between Agra and Jaipur

145 miles but takes 4 almost 5 hours because of road conditions but we never tire of what unfolds on the other side of the car window. Mickey stays with us because he will provide us with one more tour along the way. He suggests we take a nap¸ but there is always too much to see. 

There is a congregation of water buffalo on both sides of the road near a large brackish lake. We’re told it’s a buffalo swimming pool.  Well, they’ve turned out in force today for a dip

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We’ve been seeing pony carts in the streets of Agra and now we start to see carts pulled by camels. They are graceful in their plodding way and lend an exotic touch to the surroundings as if we’re stepping back in time.

Agra Pony Cart

Camel Cart

Stout stucco towers mark the miles and Mickey tells us that messengers once walked between them passing letters. One man carried the letter for one mile then handed it off to be carried the next mile and so on.

One rickety town has a boardwalk on stilts with patched together stalls just large enough for a single chair. In the chairs are men in all stages of shaves and haircuts. We get a cut-away view from the road.

Akbar’s city

 Fatehpur Sikri

The City of Victory

Akbar lived in this walled city for 13 years, eventually abandoning it because it was indefensible, and because there was a lack of sustainable water in this desert location. Akbar came to power at the age of 14 and lived a long life. This city, built in 1571, was planned and supervised personally by Akbar, is one of his many accomplishments. The plan of this city influenced the evolution of Indian town planning.  It’s an imposing citadel of red sandstone encompassing terraces, palaces, open courtyards, pavilions, temples, public buildings, living quarters and a mosque.  There is a life-sized Parcheesi board embedded in one of the courtyards and rumor has it that Akbar used harem girls as game pieces.  The harem toilets can still be seen. They are rounded three-sided open pits lined up in a row at ground level.

Akbar's Veranda

Peek-A-Boo

Inner Courtyard

Gorgeous Stonework

Taking it All In

Harem Toilets

Parcheesi

Akbar invited women from the city to a market where he observed them surreptitiously and chose the most beautiful to become members of his court. He played a “game” where he wore an anklet made of bells among the blindfolded court women. They were supposed to find him by listening to the jingle of his anklet, (maybe they chose to run the other way).

Akbar held court here too. If a judgment of death was passed down he kept a killer elephant staked inside the compound to trample the offender.  When the elephant died a monument was built on its grave.

We walk through Akbar’s porticoed bedroom. He slept on a wide flat raised platform because he feared snakes. There is a conduit for cool water that provided air conditioning in the heat.

Akbar's Bed Chamber

Akbar's Bed

Akbar’s subjects had a vested interest in his well-­being.  He would weigh himself and then distribute his weight in certain goods to each household. He did this for 5 days and on the sixth day he distributed his weight in gold coins. His subjects wanted him healthy and well fed.

Akbar had a favorite minister named Birbal who was clever and wise. There are many clever Birbal stories which have been made into comic books. Once Akbar had a visitor who tried to stump Birbal by asking him how many stars are in the sky. Birbal said he would need three days to answer. When he came to court with his answer he had a goat with him. He said the number of stars equaled the number of hairs on the goat and he invited the visitor to count them. I found more Birbal stories here: http://dimdima.com/khazana/stories/showstory.asp?q_cat=Birbal+Stories

 

Birbal's Palace

The mosque is not in active use, so we are allowed inside.  Intricately carved open screens cover openings into the central area which houses the tomb of Shaikh Salim, a Sufi saint whom Akbar credits with blessing him with a son. Visitors tie colored lengths of thread around the cut-work. Each thread represents a wish, or more likely, a prayer.

Wishes and Prayers

Inside the Mosque

As we leave we are approached by a constant stream of adults and children wanting us to buy postcards or souvenirs. It is so hard to say no to the children. We’re told to ignore them and keep walking. I just can’t. One asks where I’m from I say USA and he responds quickly with “Obama”. Now I really love this kid. Our guide tells me if I want to give the boy the ticket we purchased to enter the complex he can resell it and make some money. That sounds like a good deal to me. Jake gives me his ticket because there are two boys. They are absolutely thrilled and follow us waving and grinning all the way to our vehicle.

Driving Away From the City