Fatehpur Sikri Monument

One hour outside of Agra on the way to Jaipur our itinerary made provision for a brief visit to Fatehpur Sikri Monument.  An impressive fort-like building, red and cream in colour with a gigantic pyramid shaped staircase leading to the entrance. 

The Importance of Education:As we walked from the “tourist” car park to Fatehpur Sikri Monument we were the targets of ‘hard selling’ from young children (age range 5 to 16) trying to earn a few Rupees  - a common occurrence here in India.  Persistent and somewhat ‘business-like’ in their approach, it was sad to see that at  12 midday children were out to earn money instead of gaining a much needed education.  The demeanour and persistence of these young people suggested they had little, if any education in a school environment and that food and basic needs are rightly prioritised over education.  Child begging and street selling is a particularly prevalent, wide spread issue in India and as such there is a corresponding need to change these cultural and social norms and encourage children into education in order to give them the best chance in life.  Coming back to our previous post which discusses our visit to a local school in a deprived area in Jaipur, the work of the volunteers and Rotarians in Jaipur proved immensely important with clear local and national benefits.  From our experiences so far, it has become clear that a drastic  improvement in the education infrastructure, particularly in deprived areas would greatly enhance prosperity in India.  The question is how can this be achieved?

Anna, Cathie and Graham at the foot of Fatehpur Sikri Monument

Fatehpur Sikri Monument