We had told Raj that monuments were interesting to us but that we liked even better seeing the way people lived and the current culture of India. So, today, before we left Agra, he gave us the best treat of the week and took us to his own home. As we drove into his part of town we saw the “lake” into which he had told us they throw their trash and we waved to some of his neighbors in the street.
At his home we met his wife again and his teenaged son and daughter as well as his sister-in-law who lives in the adjacent home. They very graciously showed us their home inside and out and answered all of our questions.
His son and daughter each had their own bedroom. They are both avid boxing students!
The family uses both the inside and the outside kitchen, just like most of us do, except they use gas inside and dung outside, because they say the food cooked over dung tastes better, but the gas is easier.
Here you are looking across to the neighbors yards and then out to the fields in the back. Everything here looked neat and cared for. The fields are owned and managed by the families so they are small. Many families have cows, or better still buffalo because they give more milk, but Raj no longer has them because he and his wife work and don’t have time to deal with them.
We walked a short distance to the home of Raj’s parents who also kindly let us see their home and ask about their life. Notice here the dung which has been collected for use and for sale.
His parents home was not quite as modern as Raj’s but I got the impression that that was as they wanted it. His dad liked sleeping on this type of traditional Indian bed and the bathroom was not inside. Most of their living was outside it seems.
What I think I realized from this experience is that although the villages and homes often look rundown on the outside the inside may be much better kept. As we left we got to talk with some neighbors as they went about their daily work and play. What a wonderful look into real Indian life Raj gave us in his home town!
And then we were off on the long ride to Jaipur.
Wow amazing