Agra

Literature in this era, is not only confined to one  particular area like British  Literature. With the passage of time, it is extended to different Literatures of various colours, societies and cultures.  One of these are the travelogues, the travel accounts, the notes of a traveler, containing his impressions of the journey, descriptions of events, and observations, the  adventure stories, utopias, and philosophic works, in short "Travel Literature". Travel literature seeks to communicate information about newly discovered lands or those little known to the reader. It is one of the most interesting part of the literature world. It takes the readers to the places and helps in gaining and understanding new different places, its culture and beauty. Travel writing celebrates the differences in manners and customs around the world. It helps the reader to understand other people and places, customs and style of living, it let the readers travel to far-off destinations that they may never see. One of the travelogues titled "Footloose in Agra" written by one the India's best loved writers, Ruskin Bond is such one of them. It is extracted by one his Travel journals he kept in the mid-1960s when he travelled extensively in the small towns and cities of North India. Ruskin Bond is considered to be an icon among Indian writers and children's authors and a top novelist. In this work, he explores that Agra is not actually about Taj and historical monuments, it is much more than that, he explores the laid-back Agra of 1960s in the shadow of everlasting ling mesmerizing TajMahal.  This paper is important because Agra, from the eyes of the author is still an old city where one can observe India's old traditional culture. This paper is important as it portrays the beauty and old culture of Agra from crowded localities to busy bajaars also it concludes that Ruskin Bond's portrayal of TajMahal is a feast for the imaginative eyes of one who has never visited the monument. Simultaneously for those who have this idea that Agra is only about the few historical monuments.

This paper is an attempt to reflect upon a relationship between Interior Architecture (stone crafts) and traditional systems of space making.The story of stone is the story of civilization.
It is a material, which has witnessed all the eras and narrates a timeline. It is available in abundance, and its use could be found all across the places in various products of daily use,
objects of arts and crafts, and architecture, all of which tell a story of their respective epoch. Stone has the potential of telling such a vast history because it is long lasting and could
easily stand the test of times.Earlier, stone crafts and architecture were considered two sides of the same coin.Large number of built forms can be traced in the areas which had easy access to the raw material. It was the wisdom in the ‘shilpi’ tradition that allowed the craftspersons to understand the composition of stones, their material properties, have expertise in quarrying techniques and exploit the potential to the
best. The most intriguing aspect is this vast repertory of information and knowledge was not just by experiences passed on from generations, but a completely scientific approach. With
the passage of time, this relationship has changed. Contrary to the previous picture, where stone found extensive use right from village constructions to urban dwellings, palaces to temples, today, the focus is shifted mainly to temples, folk products and masonry for urban areas. By allowing interventions on various levels, these traditional knowledge systems can be revived in contemporary times in efficient ways.

The Radhasoami Samadh at Agra, India is chosen as a thorough case study. It is a shrine constructed in the memory of Param Purush Puran Dhani Huzur Soamiji Maharaj, the
revered founder of the Radhasoami faith, who was born at Agra in 1818 AD. Conceived in the form of an architectural model by Soamiji himself, with the help of a British architect,
Frizoni, the building has been under construction for more than 100 years now. Although the building is still incomplete, it continues to spread the Radhasoami philosophy, with its ever
going construction. The building stands apart as a case study because of exquisite use of building crafts (stone carving, inlay, and several other space making elements), and the
process of its construction that gives an understanding of how crafts become integral to space making. Till date, most of the work in this building is done with hands, except the
cutting of stones and some electric hammer work. The idea of construction using hands, laborious detailing, intricate motifs and the pure craftsmanship has made the Samadh a perfect example of how traditional knowledge systems are innate with craft skills.

The production of drinking water by conventional treatment via direct abstraction from the Yamuna river is
problematic due to very large quantities of nontreated to partially treated wastewater discharged into the river
with resulting interruptions of water supply and consumer dissatisfaction. Widespread urbanisation and high
population density in the region has resulted in increasing demand for drinking water. The quality of bankside
groundwater and surface water at new sites in Mathura and Agra was investigated to determine whether these
sites can serve as potential riverbank filtration (RBF) sites. Water samples were collected from the Yamuna and
from hand pumps/vertical wells located along the river's right bank. The samples were analysed for instant
physical field parameters, major ions and inorganic elements. River water, RBF water from an existing
horizontal collector well in Mathura and drinking water produced by the main conventional water treatment
plant in Agra were analysed for dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The relationship amongst the major ions and
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inorganic parameters has been studied. Among anions, HCO and Cl-have been the dominant and the anions 3
- -- - -
contribution in descending order, is HCO >Cl-> SO >NO > F, while among cations, Na+ was found dominant 3 4 3
+ ++ ++ +
and the contribution by the cations in descending order is Na >Ca >Mg >K . The Yamuna water hasa high
concentration of DOC (12 mg/L). The DOC concentration is lowered up to 50 % by dilution during monsoon.
The salinity (in terms of electrical conductivity) of river and groundwater is found to be relatively high (~1700
µS/cm and ~2000 – 3400 µS/cm, respectively) and is thus not expected to be lowered by RBF, nevertheless
RBF can serve at least as a pre-treatment to subsequent post-treatment (e.g. using costly membrane
technologies) in terms of removing pathogens, turbidity, suspended solids and DOC and thereby provide costsavings
for the post-treatment. The majority of the groundwater samples are suitable for drinking and irrigation
purposes. Groundwater is found to be influenced by the Yamuna river which envisages that RBF can be
potentially used along the Yamuna subject to suitable site-specific geohydraulic conditions.