We are now en route from Jaipur to Agra via Fatehpur Sikri, having checked out of the Golden Tulip Hotel at just after 8.30 and left Jaipur via the main road that divides the old and new sections of the city. As we drive along the road there are more modern or western type shops, even the ubiquitous McDonald's is here.

Today is the festival of Brother and Sister – so a lot of people are travelling.

Festival of Brother and Sister
Raksha Bandhan is a Hindu festival that celebrates the love and duty between brothers and sisters; the festival is also popularly used to celebrate any brother-sister like loving protective relationship between men and women who may or may not be related. It is called Rakhi Purnima, or simply Rakhi, in many parts of India. The festival is observed by Hindus, Jains, and many Sikhs.

Raksha Bandhan in Sanskrit literally means "the tie or knot of protection" It is an ancient Hindu festival that ritually celebrates the love and duty between brothers and their sisters. The sister performs a Rakhi ceremony, and then prays to express her love and her wish for the well being of her brother; in return, the brother ritually pledges to protect and take care of his sister under all circumstances. It is one of the several occasions in which family ties are affirmed in India. It is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Śrāvaṇa, and typically falls in August every year.


We're on the national highway after 40 minutes and come to our first toll booth at 9.40 when we pass Jhar.



The buses in Jaipur were jam packed inside and young men, mainly young men, sit on the roof of the buses. We see some of them on the highway. The driving rain begins to fall and the sodden men cling to the roof rack – they can do nothing to keep dry. We pass a few 4 wheel drive pick ups with people standing on the rear bumper.

The rain stops at 9.50 and although the sky is cloudy it is still bright.

The landscape now is more rural and flat with crops growing on both sides of the highway. There are familiar concrete style cafes / restaurants along the road – perhaps at 5-10 km intervals. Some also have hoardings saying "Hotel", they look very basic and probably cater for the truck drivers.

We pass a number of brick kilns, but as we drive past it is difficult to see whether or not they are currently in use. Before leaving for India I remember reading about brick kiln workers trying to organise themselves to break out of debt bondage. In many cases the initial wage advance taken by the workers combined with low wages and the obligation to work until the end of the season means that families become bonded labour. The bondage and the attendant poverty are passed down the generations as the children who migrate and work with their parents are deprived of any education and consequently have limited options in the labour market.




Just before 10.00am we pass the sign for Jirota. The driver tells us this area produces Durries - which are not carpets as we once mistakenly thought - but actually carpet covers.

Along the road side and especially at large intersections I'm struck by the number of advertising boards and painted signs for universities and schools..

Looking left I can see a settlement of fairly well set out houses, whilst on the right in the distance are the hills.

The volume of traffic on NH11 is much lighter than our journey from Delhi. There are fewer trucks but more motor bikes - most with a pillion passenger. Some, typically a young man wearing sandals, shirt billowing in the wind with a woman in a sari sitting side saddle. There are some with a family on board, either one or two children. Lighter traffic plus the good road surface and absence of road works means that we're able to make steady progress.