Day 11c – Fatehpur Sikri –The case of the dodgy tour guide

On our way to Jaipur we took the opportunity to stop off at the city of Fatehpur Sikri, a place founded by Emperor Akbar. It’s known as a ghost city because it was abandoned about 12 years after Akbar had completed it. Due to a lack of water the city quickly became unviable as a permanent residence. It has since this time remained as it stood in Akbar’s time. As we approached Fatehpur Sikri a group of men flagged down our van and offered to show us the site for a fixed price of 575 rupees including admission price and parking. After a quick consult with our driver we took up the tour guide on his offer because the guide at Agra had told us to try and make this arrangement to avoid being pestered by other “hooligans”. The guide arranged our parking and got us a small motorised three wheeled vehicle to take us on the 1 kilometer journey from the car park to the site. Jas was looking distinctly ill at ease and told me that this was a bad idea. I thought I’d give the guide the benefit of the doubt and asked Jas to go along and see what happens.

Panorama image

At the top of a large hill we were taken around an impressive looking and very large courtyard that is part of the Fatehpur Sikri site. We were shown a remarkable looking mausoleum to a 14th Century Muslim saint called Salim Chisti that Akbar had revered. It was one of the things that I had wanted to see. However, it quickly became apparent that our “tour guide” was trying to scam us (Jas was right!). First of all there was no pay kiosk at the entrance gate to the site, this had aroused my suspicions almost immediately. Then he stated we should pay our respects to the saint by purchasing a highly embroidered cloth offering for 3,000 rupees before entering the mausoleum. He said that no one should see the saint empty handed. We obviously refused to pay this amount and steadfastly told him that we would pay our respects from outside the mausoleum. Realising that we would not pay the exorbitant price, he suggested that we should buy some flowers as offerings instead. When we refused I think he began to see that we had seen through his little game. At various points I kept asking him why we could not enter the other parts of the city complex, he would reply on each occasion that these were reserved for the Muslim ministers, or that only local people were allowed entry or those parts of the site were dangerous.

Tunnel said to lead to the Taj Mahal some 45 km away!

After having a good look around the main buildings we had access to, we asked to return to our van. He promptly called for our conveyance and we returned to our vehicle. At this point (when everyone else was on board and the engine was running) I took the “guide” to one side and told him that I was aware that he had taken us to only a small part of the city complex and that he had failed to fulfil his original promise of showing us the full site. From his countenance I could see he understood he had been rumbled. At this point I told him that I would not pay the fee we had originally agreed. He started to argue that he had shown us what he had promised, when I asked him some clear points about the Fatehpur Sikhri site I had researched (wonderful thing the Internet) he began to accept that we had not been shown the main site but only a part that is free to enter due to the religious significance of the place. At this point another person arrived and tried to argue on behalf of the guide but they both could see that the scam had not worked. I agreed to pay them 200 rupees for what they had shown us (I must confess that it was interesting, not sure about the accuracy though!) unsurprisingly they asked for more money. As I started to move towards our vehicle, they accepted the 200 rupees out of which they had to pay 50 towards our parking fees. They helpfully set us on the road the Jaipur to show that there were no ill feelings. The fascinating thing about this little episode is how people can use the power of religion to relieve people of money. The way we were told that no-one could enter the mausoleum without a gift implied that to do so was a great sin and an offence to the locals who revere this saint. Obviously not wishing to cause offence, but having the presence of mind to pay our respects without entering the mausoleum we realise is an acceptable act (that has existed through time immemorial). They could see that we were aware of religious customs and paid due respect and diligence to them. However, for someone not so secure in their knowledge it would be a very difficult situation to get out of.





Another issue that struck me was that the Punjabi’s are known throughout India for their forthrightness. I must confess that I was very blunt about what I perceived to be a situation in which this group of people were using the good name of a saint for their own material ends. Playing to this stereotype allowed us to get out of this situation without being ripped off, and on good terms with those who attempted the scam on us. As our driver so succinctly put it afterwards “only in India!”