Mathura - India 24

From Agra I decided to visit nearby Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna. I crossed 3-8 miles of town to the bus station in under 10 Rs to get there. It was an interesting jog because at times I kept up with the sparse rickshaws while carrying my pack. Here the roads were as wide as an American Highway, yet they were used by very little traffic. These are the new outlets for traffic that get bogged down in the main road, however they lack all the shops and housing that draws people to the main round. Consequently, the main road is still a traffic jam.

My bus traveled right through the center of this jam. City Agra was significantly more modern and looked similar to other Indian cities as compared to the tourist section of Agra. For some time I road the highway from Agra to Mathura. This highway seemed Western in standards: clean with marked lanes drivers followed. As we turned off for Mathura, I noticed a white temple at least as long as a townhouse/rowhouse block, which I thought could be to Krishna.

I got off my bus a bit and found this white temple was to Guru Deo, no relation to Ronnie James. This templ Two things about this surprised me, the temple was white polished stone filled with rope lights of all different colors, and the donations were only accepted from those who had not eaten meat in the last month.

When I finally reached Mathura, I found a big washing pit in the center of town. Six or seven stories from the top of the square was a pond. The water was full of reeds, but was also discolored a shade of red from runoff. I saw women washing their laundry there.

Outside Krishna's dwelling were throngs of pilgrims dressed in orange. Everyone was there for his birthday. I was ashamed to think that a temple as small as the one for Guru Deo could possibly be the dwelling of Lord Krishna. The place was immense. Conveniently outside was an airconditioned enclosed sweets shop that had expensive dainties at American prices. Between the outdoor washing and the indoor food, I am always reminded of the juxtaposition of economics in Indian society.

Before my return to Agra I followed a path down the train tracks to the bus station. I met a begger and offered him my water, which he greatfully drank without touching his mouth to the bottle or spilling a drop. The Indians have perfected this art. At the bus station I have four large vegetable samosas with hot pepper sauce for 20 Rs. Made by hand and fried by the vendor on the pan infront of me, these were delicious.

Back in Agra, my cheap hotel had a laundry service. I payed when I received my laundry but one piece remained dirty and only appeared pressed. When I discovered this and asked for my 3Rs in return, the guy at the front desk hemmed and hawed. The problem with losing small amounts of money is that over the course of a trip they build up. For me, it is the principal of the idea that I should never pay for work I didn't receive. As my time wasn't that crucial (how can it be with train timings up to a day off?) we had a nice 5 minute conversation in order for me to get any change. I recognize that the money ment more to him than it did to me, but charity is to be freely given, not used to excuse shoddy labor.