kota is a city in rajasthan. it is an important railway junction and we were there to change trains. we had some hours at our leisure so we had a walk around the city center.
this shop is selling jaggery which is made by boiling away the liquid in sugar cane juice. there are a variety of qualities from different sorts of sugar cane and other ingredients
no need to have a shop if you have a cart. the dark brown jaggery is made by mixing juice from both sugar cane and fresh dates.
many carts are wheeled around the streets in the middle of traffic from motor vehicles. (this one with raisins)
such as this share taxi from a nearby village
small scale dairy farmers deliver their milk daily to a cooperative sales outlet in the city. these brass jugs are used to transport the milk. the cooperative measures the fat content of the milk and pays a premium price for the cream.
the farmer is carrying three brass jugs and is careful to lock them to his motorbike. though the jugs have taken a beating the seal of the lid is tight to avoid any spillage
a girl waiting patiently for her mother or father to do their marketing
in the middle of all this a wedding procession passes by on the way to the groom's house to escort him to the wedding hall
and now they have arrived
i am the only foreigner around so there is always somebody who wants me to take their photo
and i am happy to oblige and have a chat over a cup of chai
speaking of chai, what better way to catch up on the news than with a cup
the electrical wiring here is something else
the city was built centuries before electricity was installed. much of the wealth from the area comes from a long standing thriving stone industry and sari mills. unlike many larger cities which are expanding and/or modernizing, the old kota remains very much in tact
after all what is there that needs improvement
ok time to go. we have a train to catch. i wonder if it is on time