Agra is situated in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and is also called as Akbarabad. It is the 19^th most populated city and 20^th most polluted city in India. It was mentioned as Agrevana in Mahabharata. It is situated on the banks of River Yamuna, 200 kilometers from New Delhi, the capital of India. Agra is the administrative headquarters of the district of Agra. It is noted for Mughal buildings in the place like Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri. All these three places are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

History of Agra

The history of the place dates back to 1000 B.C. It was founded in 1504 by the ruler Sultan Sikandar Lodi of Lodi Dynasty. His son Sultan Ibrahim Lodi lost it to Babar in the First Battle of Panipat in 1526. Samrat Hemu Chander Vikramaditya won this place in 1556 and he reestablished the Hindu Kingdom and Vikramaditya dynasty.

Again it fell into the hands of the Mughals and this period of Mughals is called as the golden age. The emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan ruled over the place one after the other. The Great Red Fort and Fatehpur Sikhri were built by Akbar. Jahangir built many gardens within the Lal Qila complex. Shah Jahan built Taj Mahal in Agra in the memory of his loving wife. Though Shah Jahan shifted his capital to Delhi, his son Aurangazeb shifted it back to Agra or Akbarabad.

The British established the Presidency of Agra in 1835. In 1837 and 1838 the place was shook by Agra Famine. Din Ilahi and Radhaswami Faith were the two religions that were founded in Agra.

Geography and Climate of about Agra

Agra has a semi arid climate with mild winters and hot and dry summers. It has three seasons, winter, summer and monsoon season. The average daily temperature in summer is 34 degree Celsius and in winter it is 21 degree Celsius. The temperate at times rises to as much as 46 degree Celsius and reaches as low as 2 degree Celsius. The days are warm and sunny during winter and it is the ideal time to visit the place. It receives 695 mm rainfall annually. Western disturbances occurring during winter months, southwest monsoon and continental air are the three main factors influencing the weather of Agra.

The district of Agra has Mathura district in the north, Firozabad district in the east, Bharatpur district in the west and Dholpur district in the south. The total area of the Agra city is 188.40 square kilometers and is located at an elevation of 171 meters above mean sea level.

Some of the important areas of Agra are Chilgarh, Kairatitola, Nawalganj, Etmad Pur, Dayal Bagh, Khandari, Jagdishpura, Shahganj, Baluganj, Sultanganj, Sikandra, Babarpur, Fatehpur Sikri, Rajpur, Fatehabad, Jaiwal, Bharatpur, etc.

People and Culture

The population of Agra is 3,575,135 according to the 2011 census with a male population of 53% and female population of 47%. The literacy rate of Agra city is 81% and that of Agra district is 62.56%. The male literacy rate is 86% and the female literacy rate is 76%. The density of the place is 8954 people per square kilometer. 89.6% of the people are Hindus, 8.93% of the people are Muslims and 0.51% of the people are Jains. Some of the castes here are Jatavs, Baniyas, Bhotia, Jaunsari and Jats.

There are 6 tehsils in Agra district namely Etmadpur, Agra, Kiraoli, Kheragarh, Fatehabad and Bah and 15 blocks, Etmadpur, Khandauli, Pinahat, Jaitpur Kalan, Fatehabad, Jagner, Kheragarh, Saiyan, Akola, Bichpuri, Fatehpur Sikri, Achanera, Barauli Ahir and Bah. There are three Lok Sabha constituencies namely Jalesar, Firozabad and Agra and 9 Vidhan Sabha constituencies namely Bah, Agra West, Agra East, Etmadpur, Fatehabad, Dayal Bagh, Agra Cantonment, Fatehpur Sikri and Kheragarh.

Brij culture is seen in most of the parts of the city. The food items, languages and dresses reflect that culture. In the month of February a ten day festival called as Taj Mahotsav is celebrated in Shilpgram with an exhibition of crafts, arts, classical dances and songs. Men wear long sleeved shirts and other western outfits and women wear traditional salwar kameez and saris. Other events conducted here are Bateshwar Fair, Kailash Fair, Sheetla Fair, Taj Mahotsav and Urs in Fatehpur Sikri.

The main languages spoken here are Hindi, Urdu and English. The government is giving importance to develop sports especially cricket and there are three stadiums in the city namely Eklavya Sports Stadium, Sadar Bazar Stadium and Tourist Bureau Stadium.

Economical and Educational Details About Agra

Agra has been a commercial hub since the time of Mughal rulers. As one of the Seven Wonders of the World Taj Mahal is situated here, tourism industry and other related industries have developed well here. 40% of the people depend on agriculture and other industries like marbles, carpets, leather, footwear and iron industries are widely found. The largest spa in Asia, Kaya Kalp – The Royal Spa is located in the Hotel Mughal in Agra.

There are about 7000 small scale industries in Agra. It is noted for handicrafts, Zari and Zardozi and stone carvings. Agra is famous for Agra sweets. Some of the companies located here are Anil Diesels, Harvest Group of Industries, Malloys India, Indian Agriculture and Automobile Corporation, Hindustan Rubber and Plastic Industries, Polyplast Industries, Bandejjia Traders, Expomore, Best Buy, Eskay Sales Corporation, Sharda Enterprises, Royal International, Glass Expressions, Silver Gatta Agency, Amar Paper Agency, Yoga Handicrafts, Wire Manufacturing Company and Yashoda Exports.

Agra is a center of both modern education and Islamic education. The Agra College established in 1823 is one of the oldest of its kind in India. Agra University was established on 1^st June 1927 and it was later renamed as Dr. BhimRao Ambedkar University.

Some of the colleges in Agra are Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Central Institute of Hindi, Seth Padam Chand Jain Institute, School of Life Sciences, Dau Dayal Institute of Vocational Education, Agra College, Institute of Engineering and Technology, Anand Engineering College, Sarojini Naidu Medical College, St. John’s College, F. E. T. Agra College, Raja Balwant Singh College, B. M. A. S. Engineering College, IBRC, Institute of Social Sciences, etc.

Some of the schools in Agra include Agra Public School, Baptist Higher Secondary School, Air Force School, Army School, Maharaja Agrasen Inter College, Delhi Public School, Holy Public School, Government Inter College, M. D. Jain Inter College, Queen Victoria Girls Inter College, Saraswati Vidhya Mandir Inter College, Saraswati Shishu Mandir, Sumeet Rahul Goel Memorial Senior Secondary School, Simpkins School, Dayanand Bal Mandir, Radhaswami Educational Institute, Sachdeva Millennium School, Gyandeep High School, Tagore Bal Niketan, St. George’s College, St. Conrad’s Inter College, St. Anthony’s Junior College, St. Patrick Junior College, St. Paul’s Church college, St. Andrews Public School, etc.

Internal Infrastructure of Agra

The gardens in Agra are Swami Bagh constructed in 1904, Ram Bagh the Mughal Gardens built by Emperor Babar and Mehtab Bagh, across the River Yamuna. Some of the religious places here are Balkeshwar Temple, Kailash Temple, Mankameshwar Temple, Prithvinath Temple, Rajeshwar Temple, Shyam Ji Maharaj Temple, Mahakal And Mahakali Temple, Rawli Maharaj Temple, Guru Ka Taal, Moti Masjid, Jama Masjid, etc.

The eat outs in Agra are Treat Restaurant, The Silk Route Restaurant, Only Restaurant, Joney’s Place, Kamat Hotel, etc. The hotels to stay here are Dayal Lodge, Hotel Amba Inn, hotel Jaiwal, Hotel Kamal, Hotel Neel Kanth, Saniya Palace, Shanti Lodge, Hotel Priya, Hotel Mandakini Vilas, Laurie’s Hotel, Hotel Raj, Hotel Taj Resorts, ITC Mughal, Oberoi Amarvilas, Trident Hilton, Pushp Villa Hotel, Hotel Athithi, Royal Residency, etc.

The shopping areas in Agra are Loha Mandi, Dayal Bagh, Rakab Ganj, Taj Ganj, Civil Line, Sardar Bazaar, Raja Ki Mandi, Kinari Bazaar, Sanjay Place and Taj Mahal Complex. Taj Mahal museum and spiritual museum are two museums located in Agra.

The hospitals in Agra include Pareek Hospital and Research Centre, Apollo Pankaj Hospital, Ram Raghu Hospital, Shanti Ved Hospital, Malhotra Nursing and Maternity Home P Ltd, Abhay Fracture and Orthopedic Hospital, Mental Hospital, S. N. Medical College and Hospital, Sundrani Charitable Eye Hospital Samiti, Shahganj, Arun Child Hospital, amit Jaggi Memorial Hospital, National Jalma Institute of Leprosy and Other Micro bacterial Diseases, Lady Lyall Hospital, etc.

Details About Agra Transport

The Agra Airport is one of the air force stations of the Indian Air Force established on 15^th August 1947 and is now administered by the Central Air Command. There is no commercial air service operating from here at present.

Agra is connected with all the major cities of India such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Jaipur, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai through this railway system. There are three major railway systems here namely Agra Cantt, Agra Fort Railway Station and Raja Ki Mandi station. Other small railway stations are Idgah, Billochpura, Agra City and Yamuna Bridge stations.

NH 2 connecting Delhi, NH 11 connecting Jaipur, NH 3 connecting Mumbai and NH 2 connecting Lucknow and Kanpur pass through Agra. The major bus stands here are Idgah Bus Stand, Taj Depot, Inter State Bus Terminal and Ford Depot. The Mahatma Gandhi Road is the longest road in the city connecting one end of it to the other. Auto rickshaws, rickshaws, tempos and taxis are also used for local transport.

Places of Interest In Agra

Taj Mahal: The world famous monument Taj Mahal is situated in Agra. It was built in 1653 by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal. It took 22 years to complete this and is situated on the bank of the River Yamuna. It is a building made of marbles and the verses of Koran are inscribed on it. The precious and semi precious stones are studded on the building.

Agra Fort: It is also called as Red Fort and was built in 1565 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. Pearl Mosque, Diwan E Am, Diwan E Khas, Jahangir’s Palace, Khas Mahal, Musamman Burj and Shish Mahal are situated within this.

Fatehpur Sikri: It is situated 35 km from Agra and was built by King Akbar. Fatehpur and Sikri are two different places nearer to one another. He built the Buland Darwaza in 1601 CE with 52 steps with a height of 53.63 meters and a width of 35 meters.

Itimad Ud Daulah’s Tomb: It is located on the left bank of River Yamuna and covers about 250 square feet standing over a base of fifty meters. There are hexagonal towers on each corner with a height of 13 m.

Sikandra: The tomb of Mughal Emperor Akbar is situated here. It is made of red ochre sandstone and is in the shape of the pyramids with 99 names of Allah inscribed on it. Akbar started to construct this and was completed by his son Jahangir in 1613.

Keetham Lake: This is also called as Sur Sarovar and is situated in the reserved forest area of Surdas.

Mughal Heritage Walk: In one kilometer walk one can see the ancient village of Kuchhpura, Humayun Mosque, Gyarah Sidi and Mehtab Bagh. Mehtab Bagh is also called as Moonlight Garden.

Ram Bagh: This Mughal Garden was constructed by Emperor Babar in 1528 and was originally named as Aram Bagh meaning Garden of Relaxation.

Jama Masjid: This was built in 1648 by Jahanara Begum the daughter of Shah Jahan and has inscriptions at its entrance and this mosque has no minarets.

Swami Bagh Samadhi: This is a monument of Swamiji Maharaj Shiv Dayal Singh Seth holding his ashes. The construction began in February 1904.

National Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary: This is located in Etawah near Agra spreading over an area of 635 square kilometers.

Mariam’s Tomb: Jahangir constructed this in the memory of his mother Mariam Zammani and has grave made of white marble.

Chini Ka Roza: Allama Afzel Khal Mullah Shukrullah of Shiraz was the Prime Minister of Shah Jahan and this memorial was dedicated to him.

Agra is one of the must see historical places in India.

Article Posted By : Sumazla  On January 05, 2012lView All Articles

Suhaina Mazhar is a freelance content writer and blogger with five years experience in content writing. http://sumazla.blogspot.com is her blog.

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