Delhi Jaipur and Agra with Fatehpur Sikri Tour

The People in Delhi Jaipur and Agra

As in the rest of India, the people of the Golden Triangle are a colorful mix of communities, religious, languages and traditional tribes. All the gradations of the caste system are found here the upper brahmins and kshatriyas, the middle-ranking, vaishyas and the lowest, menial labourers. Almost all of India’s communities are represented in Delhi: dark-skinned Tamils and Keralites, lighter-skinned Punjabis, the shorter, squatter Bengalis, as well as Maharashtrians, Gujaratis and students from the north-eastern states of Assam and Nagaland.

It is interesting to see how certain communities have created their own housing areas in the capital. Janak Puri in west Delhi is dominated by Keralites and Tamils, while Chittaranjan Park in south Delhi is made up almost entirely by Bengalis. It is complete with a market that stocks a wide variety of delicious fish.

Thousands of migrant labourers from the villages of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana swarm into Delhi to look for work. Certain jobs and services have become associated with distinct communities and castes. Tribal Christian girls from Bihar work as housemaids, a number of plumbers come from Orissa, the nurses from Kerala, and the doss (south Indian bread) restaurants are, of course, all staffed by Tamils or Keralites.

In Delhi you can also see the puppie, or Punjabi Upwardly Mobile Professional, zoom by in a Hyundai or Honda and swing in the city’s booming night-clubs. India’s Generations x are called trendy conservatives. They dress fashionably and listen to the latest western pop music, but few are able to break out of parental control. Living together, having gay relationships and even divorce are still fairly unacceptable.

In Rajasthan the most visible group are the Rajputs — the warriors representing different noble houses — like the Kachhawahas of Jaipur, the Rathods of Jodhpur and the Sisodias of Mewar. Together with the brahmins they constitute less than a tenth of Rajasthan’s population. With a brightly coloured turban and handlebar moustache, the Rajput prides himself on his ancestry, although many have now fallen on hard times and have been forced to convert their ancestral properties into luxury hotels. Rajput villagers might be tall and brightly turbaned, but they are also impoverished and skinny.