We were picked up at Agra station in airy open sided jeeps and driven through the fascinating streets to our little hotel. It felt like the real India –cows wandering at their leisure along the roads – they are rather beautiful. From the rooftop of our hotel we got our first glimpse of the mighty Taj. But first, a visit to the massive Red Fort, built in 1565 by 3 successive Mughal emperors. The large majority of the fort is still in use by the Indian Army, but we were shown around the remainder by a beautifully spoken and highly knowledgeable guide.
From there we went to the Kanu carpet factory, and were shown all the steps of knotted carpet-making. The factory is a Government funded project to help local women, and to replace heavy industry with its disastrous impacts on the people and the monuments – especially of course the Taj. It takes 3 years of training to learn the knotting techniques. Many women work on a single large loom, and use singing to follow the design, as there is only 1 printed pattern. Some carpets take 3-6 months to make, 288 knots per square inch is very good quality. They are washed for 4-5 hours by hand, vinegar is used to set the dyes, and they are washed again, dried, combed and cut by hand with scissors – a highly skilled job, every rug done twice. The carpets were soooo gorgeous, they gleamed and cried out buy me buy me.
Next visit was to one of the wonders of the world, the glorious Taj Mahal. It truly is astounding, so beautiful and peaceful, set on the banks of the Yamuna River. Rob saw loads of interesting birds, and I had to keep reminding him we were here to see the monument! We spent a fabulous couple of hours wandering around, feeling quite stunned by the place, and even though there were plenty of people around, oddly enough it didn’t feel crowded or unpleasant.
From there we went to the Kanu carpet factory, and were shown all the steps of knotted carpet-making. The factory is a Government funded project to help local women, and to replace heavy industry with its disastrous impacts on the people and the monuments – especially of course the Taj. It takes 3 years of training to learn the knotting techniques. Many women work on a single large loom, and use singing to follow the design, as there is only 1 printed pattern. Some carpets take 3-6 months to make, 288 knots per square inch is very good quality. They are washed for 4-5 hours by hand, vinegar is used to set the dyes, and they are washed again, dried, combed and cut by hand with scissors – a highly skilled job, every rug done twice. The carpets were soooo gorgeous, they gleamed and cried out buy me buy me.
Next visit was to one of the wonders of the world, the glorious Taj Mahal. It truly is astounding, so beautiful and peaceful, set on the banks of the Yamuna River. Rob saw loads of interesting birds, and I had to keep reminding him we were here to see the monument! We spent a fabulous couple of hours wandering around, feeling quite stunned by the place, and even though there were plenty of people around, oddly enough it didn’t feel crowded or unpleasant.
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