 "Romancing no garbage in the city of Taj")
Well, to my utter surprise and truth be told feeling a bit let down, garbage in Agra is not easy to find anymore or rather all of a sudden. Just in April, friends of mine from Australia had come back exclaiming how dirty the city was but lo and behold my friends and I with our unexacting Indian standards could not spot it in the kind of magnitude we are accustomed to despite keeping a sharp eye out on every drive. Barring the one from Agra to Fatehpur Sikri – that had some impressive heaps on both sides of the road.
In general, not enough spots with mountain-like heaps to justify a photo feature. I came back and contacted the municipal commissioner in a sort of panic to learn that he has started on a clean up exercise of the city in real earnest. Of course, it’s just a start and may only last his term but here we are. Not only are the streets garbage free, the monuments barring Agra fort and Salim Chisti’s dargah, were almost spotless. At Sikandra where emperor Akbar lies buried in an area that used to be a hunting ground, the green lawns are – believe it or not – still strewn with deer and black buck too agile to be caught on camera. One can almost picture Jehangir and Co in their dazzling gear on horseback with their spears. A beautiful lodge outside the main gate is worth a stop too.
Fatehpur Sikri - this is at least my 10th visit – was clean and frighteningly orderly with a separate entrance and exit for visitors. Rickety, noisy buses make the visit more organized and take one up to the main site from the car park. Shops have been given a separate and neat space and can be easily avoided for those not interested. Earlier pesky vendors could take all the joy out of the experience simply by their incessant haranguing. There are usable toilets and a Café coffee day. Wonders I thought to myself in our country will simply never cease.
Of course like with all things Indian, it’s not as if everything is perfect and there are many inexplicable questions at all times. Like why does the entrance to the fort smell as foul as it does? And why does the Army occupy large parts of the fort including a beautiful old mosque? What value exactly is it adding to this historic site and what business does it have in there? Why can’t I as a citizen visit these bits?