The city of Agra - Religous legacy

Today, we toured a little around Agra. 1st, a Hindu temple, then we viewed the Taj Mahal from the opposite side of the river, and finally, we visited the Red Fort and its multiple Mogul palaces.
The Hindu temple we visited in the centre of Agra is nothing like a temple of Christians, Jews or Muslims. It's stuck amongst other buildings. Its outer form is not discernible, if it has any. Inside, there are multiple rooms, at different levels, with a wide range of gods in various niches. We learn that there are about 35,000 gods or to be more precise, 35,000 Jesuses in Hinduism. One god, but there are that large number that work for him. They take all shapes and forms, human, animal, half and half, mixed animal forms, and ones that are abstract. See the photos for a range of examples. There is also a structure for candles, not unlike some in the Catholic church, and there is a hall, where a guru is leading a chant, accompanied by simple music from hand cymbals. People join in the chant, they donate flowers that are used to adorn the gods, and they donate money. Most of the “priests” sit next to one or other statue, and offer a red tika on the forehead to those who approach them. I am not sure what to make of it all. Most religions seem to have been dragged towards modernity, but from what I can tell, Hinduism is not on a modern path. It also appears to be intolerant. We asked our driver if a statue was of Akbar, and he responded that it was not, and in any case, that would not be possible because there are no statues of Muslims. That in city that thrives, by Indian standards, due to its Muslim heritage (Taj Mahal, Red Fort & Palaces, Baby Taj, etc.).
The next stop was to see the Taj Mahal from across the river. It’s a beautiful spot, and the government has invested in a large car park and a nice park. Both are entirely empty, Going there and back we pass a total of 4 Europeans, but otherwise there is nobody, Very strange, as is the lack of a boat to go along, or across the river. It may be due to a lack of European tourists after Covid and that the local tourists who mainly come from Southern India do not know the new facilities exist.
The third and longest stop was a visit to the Red Fort, which is a 2.7km long walled city, which has inside 13 Mogul palaces and large barracks of the Indian army. After a lot of haggling, Flo hires a French speaking guide, who luckily is good and enthusiastic, (We almost did not hire him because his selling was for my taste too aggressive) He explained well the architecture, the design, and the set of various Mogul courts, The children were most interested in the horrible tradition that when a man died , his wife would be cremated with him. At the end, the guide also explained how nowadays there is still arranged marriage and that he , guessed age 35, had an arranged marriage. He explained the difference between how boys are welcomed into the family and girls often less so, or not at all. That is why pre-natal ultrasound scans are banned in India.
All in all, a very interesting day, with some great insights into culture that are, in my view, part of the reason that India is so slow to modernise.Leer más