Trip to Agra - The Stay (2/2)
Some time after lunch, it was time to head out into the city with my camera. Unfortunately, that time was 3 in the afternoon and the heading I took, turned to be the way OUT of the city. However, both worked out in my favor.
It was after walking in one direction for 40 minutes that I realized I was going out of Agra and towards the next town. I was on the road that has the exit towards the Taj Mahal, and saw nothing unusual at the time. The main road was lined with hotels, restaurant franchises(Dominos, Subway, KFC, McDonalds, in that sequence), a multiplex, small shops selling 'handicrafts'(tea, shoes, ethnic wear, gift shops, leather shops), petha shops and baraat ghars. Then there were the usual town basics like wine shops, grocery marts and the like.
In the gaps between those, I saw dusty, broken lanes of the residential housing of the locals. I assumed by their proximity and economic status, that these were constructed when the hotel industry generated employment opportunities for the uneducated locals. Whatever space wasn't already a shop or a restaurant, was a hotel or inn, or a hotel under construction. Behind these, lay the rural India many photographers, domestic and foreign, seek for their next artsy snap. There were the trademark features of cows, piles of rubbish, jhuggi-jhopadis, more rubbish, piles of animal (and possibly human) excreta and more cattle.I too saw many moments of people that would make good photographers but I couldn't bring myself to take out the camera and snap a pic of: a woman working at a construction site, a sack of dirt on her head and a baby in her arms; or an old man staring woefully down the road at the bustling cars; or of the man herding his cattle on the tarmac roads that were once dusty lanes; not even of a bitch scolding her litter of puppies. Nah, I didn't want to point my technology at their moment, so I can enjoy it in my memories, share it with my friends using words and let their imaginations paint the picture in their minds.
On the walk back, about 15 minutes from my hotel, noticed a small coffee shop 'Sir Espresso Cafe' to rest my tired legs and enjoyed a Bulldog Coffee.
After this stop, I paused over a small bridge that went over what seemed like an entire colony along the lower surface, like a valley. What caught my attention was that the valley looked to lead right towards the Taj(visible from this bridge), perhaps a path built from the days of old for traders and travelers to be able to see the magnificent monument from wherever they were.
At this point, I switched to walking on the other side of the same road and started noticing more cafes and shops that had gone unnoticed before. One such place was the Sheroes Hangout, more about that stop in another post. I reached a roundabout and decide to head right, still walking along the main tourist road. By this time I was dissuaded from trying to go into the center of Agra, suspecting the mediocrity of life and people in a small town would not entertain nor interest me. Down this lane, there were no fast food joints, just your dhabas, handicraft and artisan stores, general stores and wine shops. At the end of the lane, ie, the next roundabout, I spotted a store called 'The Warehouse', a souvenirs and collectibles shop. It had one of those inflatable dancing-plastic-stickman outside, which instantly piqued my interest and I decided to go inside. Inside the store, I met the owner, who is a designer by profession(he told me) and turned out to be well versed with pop culture. He's a cool guy, and we start talking about the props and weapons like swords from TV shows like Game of Thrones and movies like Kill Bill. He tells me that the company that makes all this stuff is owned by an Indian guy, who happens to be related to him. He starts talking shop about making these props, the variety of countries involved in the processes for the different raw materials and skills, and each factoid keeps blowing me mind. In the end, I bought a couple of trinkets and got his email ID for contacting him, and now all I need is save up 20k or more to buy an awesome prop sword.
From there, I headed back to the hotel, the darkness setting in at the end of a long wondrous day. For dinner I picked up a large pizza from Dominos, which I enjoyed in my hotel room and watched TV in bed while the exhaustion in my legs dropped me into a deep sleep(so I didn't hear the calls coming in after midnight to wish me Happy Birthday). The next morning, I was up early enough, so got ready for the new day, checked out and headed back. On the way back, I made just 2 stops and with confidence in my car and the tyres, I could push harder, and made it back in less than 3 hours.
All in all, a good short road trip. I'll probably take a few more while I'm still unemployed, so stay tuned for more and the usual rants and observations.
As always, thanks for reading, and feel free to share and comment.
It was after walking in one direction for 40 minutes that I realized I was going out of Agra and towards the next town. I was on the road that has the exit towards the Taj Mahal, and saw nothing unusual at the time. The main road was lined with hotels, restaurant franchises(Dominos, Subway, KFC, McDonalds, in that sequence), a multiplex, small shops selling 'handicrafts'(tea, shoes, ethnic wear, gift shops, leather shops), petha shops and baraat ghars. Then there were the usual town basics like wine shops, grocery marts and the like.
In the gaps between those, I saw dusty, broken lanes of the residential housing of the locals. I assumed by their proximity and economic status, that these were constructed when the hotel industry generated employment opportunities for the uneducated locals. Whatever space wasn't already a shop or a restaurant, was a hotel or inn, or a hotel under construction. Behind these, lay the rural India many photographers, domestic and foreign, seek for their next artsy snap. There were the trademark features of cows, piles of rubbish, jhuggi-jhopadis, more rubbish, piles of animal (and possibly human) excreta and more cattle.I too saw many moments of people that would make good photographers but I couldn't bring myself to take out the camera and snap a pic of: a woman working at a construction site, a sack of dirt on her head and a baby in her arms; or an old man staring woefully down the road at the bustling cars; or of the man herding his cattle on the tarmac roads that were once dusty lanes; not even of a bitch scolding her litter of puppies. Nah, I didn't want to point my technology at their moment, so I can enjoy it in my memories, share it with my friends using words and let their imaginations paint the picture in their minds.
On the walk back, about 15 minutes from my hotel, noticed a small coffee shop 'Sir Espresso Cafe' to rest my tired legs and enjoyed a Bulldog Coffee.
After this stop, I paused over a small bridge that went over what seemed like an entire colony along the lower surface, like a valley. What caught my attention was that the valley looked to lead right towards the Taj(visible from this bridge), perhaps a path built from the days of old for traders and travelers to be able to see the magnificent monument from wherever they were.
At this point, I switched to walking on the other side of the same road and started noticing more cafes and shops that had gone unnoticed before. One such place was the Sheroes Hangout, more about that stop in another post. I reached a roundabout and decide to head right, still walking along the main tourist road. By this time I was dissuaded from trying to go into the center of Agra, suspecting the mediocrity of life and people in a small town would not entertain nor interest me. Down this lane, there were no fast food joints, just your dhabas, handicraft and artisan stores, general stores and wine shops. At the end of the lane, ie, the next roundabout, I spotted a store called 'The Warehouse', a souvenirs and collectibles shop. It had one of those inflatable dancing-plastic-stickman outside, which instantly piqued my interest and I decided to go inside. Inside the store, I met the owner, who is a designer by profession(he told me) and turned out to be well versed with pop culture. He's a cool guy, and we start talking about the props and weapons like swords from TV shows like Game of Thrones and movies like Kill Bill. He tells me that the company that makes all this stuff is owned by an Indian guy, who happens to be related to him. He starts talking shop about making these props, the variety of countries involved in the processes for the different raw materials and skills, and each factoid keeps blowing me mind. In the end, I bought a couple of trinkets and got his email ID for contacting him, and now all I need is save up 20k or more to buy an awesome prop sword.
From there, I headed back to the hotel, the darkness setting in at the end of a long wondrous day. For dinner I picked up a large pizza from Dominos, which I enjoyed in my hotel room and watched TV in bed while the exhaustion in my legs dropped me into a deep sleep(so I didn't hear the calls coming in after midnight to wish me Happy Birthday). The next morning, I was up early enough, so got ready for the new day, checked out and headed back. On the way back, I made just 2 stops and with confidence in my car and the tyres, I could push harder, and made it back in less than 3 hours.
All in all, a good short road trip. I'll probably take a few more while I'm still unemployed, so stay tuned for more and the usual rants and observations.
As always, thanks for reading, and feel free to share and comment.
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