After the Taj Mahal, we were taken around the rest of Agra to get a feel for the beautiful and cultural city. We visited the Agra Fort next, and to be honest, by this point, all of us were a bit ready to be done touring architecture and ready to shop or really get inside the culture. I guess you could say that we didn't want to be in tourist areas anymore, and rather in INDIA.
We got to go to a Persian rug factory and they showed us how they tie and burn the rugs. It was really fun to see the process being done. The men who do this, tie each knot SO fast. The owner asked if any of us wanted to take a shot at tying, and of course, being a bit frank and outgoing, I jumped right in and dragged Diana into it with me. Being very patient with us, the workers went slowly as they taught us which string to grab onto.
After the tying was done, they took us around to the backside of the rug, and we took matches to the fabric. They burn it in order to give it more tension and grip. Kalma grabbed my arm and whispered in her broken English, "this is a very important rug. Do not mess it up."
After going through the whole shop, they practically put on a rug show for us and we got to see all of the gorgeous designed rugs. He pulled out two rugs and asked us which one we liked better. We pointed to it and they told us that he was going to change our minds. Then, we walked down the rug that we didn't like as much. When we got to the other side, he asked us again what rug we liked better. Of course, we switched. Each person likes a rug depending on the way the light hits it. So, the rugs were the exact same, just flipped around so the knots were facing the other way. Those Indians and how they love their optical illusions.
After eating and saying goodbye to Ramish, our party driver took us back to the hotel. On the way, we spontaneously decided to crash a wedding parade. In northern India, weddings are completely different celebrations. They last about a week and they are party after party. The part that we attended was the groom and his band of friends parading down the streets to go pick up his beautiful new bride for the ceremony. They hire people to hold big lights and pull the carriage down the street, the band plays and walks, and all the friends and family are on the inside, dancing their hearts out. It is so magical.
All I know, is that those 2 days were magical. I love Agra. We got our palms read, we went shopping, saw the Taj Mahal, crashed a wedding, had a crazy traffic-driving experience, and, oh yeah, ate at McDONALD'S!
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