While Bharatpur House has found a saviour, other havelis and big kothis (mansions) have not been so lucky. One by one some of the finest residential structures of yester-years have been falling prey to man’s greed for land. Jaipur House, Bardhman House, Awagarh House, only the names remain, the structures have vanished. The Jat House and Jatni ka Bagh are under threat, as are so many other grand mansions of the city.

 Old havelis in the mohallas and katras of Agra epitomize a kind of Global Village with all sorts of people with myriad backgrounds living in a friendly ambience, not too much concerned about the “right to privacy” obsession of the so-called modernites.

 While still retaining the old world charm, many of these havelis in the city combine both the Rajput as well as Muslim influences. “They are more majestic and grander than the Mumbai chawls, as the artistic welcome arches, the domes and the  multi-pillared corridors, as also a series of courtyards with high balconies, the jali-dar chatris, tastefully done décor, alongwith high ceilings, spacious rooms and the open terraces that supported the roof top culture in the scorching summer months in north India, are the features of these havelis many of which are definitely inspired by the Rajput style,” says local  historian Raj Kumar Sharma Raje.

 Surely the havelis are not slums, rather they show-case  a way of life, demonstrating a cultural pattern that is rich textured and compatible with needs for security and all round development of the residents. “It may surprise you but the fact is that there are very few cases of burglaries and other petty crimes in these mohallas and basties with big havelis, compared to the so called posh colonies which are targeted by criminals every other day,” says Bankey Lal Maheshwari, a resident of Raja ki Mandi.

 Security apart, the sense of history and pride that a resident is imbued with living in a big haveli is of a different flavor and level of confidence. Havelis or a cluster of spacious houses within a cluster like Suraj Bhan ka Phatak in Belanganj or Chandi wali Kothi near Paliwal Park, have stories to tell. “These kunchas, phataks or kothis are like fortresses within which a set of people live in harmony and share their spaces without ego clashes. Till recently most of these big kothis or havelis had common toilet facilities and water supply points. This necessarily forced people to learn how to accommodate and adjust to the pressures and needs of everyone. That attitude got reflected in social life also. But the new townplanning and architectural models are now enforcing the values of alienation and isolation,” according to school teacher Hari Dutt Sharma who recently moved out to a colony in Trans Yamuna area.

Agra abounds in old structures, some of which need to be preserved for posterity. Some of the older temples in the Rawat Para area, buildings like the Mubarak Manzil, or Dauji ka mandir in Nai ki Mandi area, some really attractive houses in Maithan, Phulatti, Chilli int Ghatia, the Sheron wali Kothi, Mangleshwar temple haveli in Gokalpura, call for attention and should definitely be preserved as heritage pieces, says Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society.

The beautiful house once belonging to Col Filose of the Gwalior army, the same chap who built the St Peter’s College in 1846, stands out for its outstanding balcony with exquisite wooden jali work, says Dr. NR Smith, the long time chronicler of Agra’s modern history.

Smith lists Peeli Kothi in Wazirpura, Huzuri Bhavan in Peepal Mandi, Nawab of Fatehgarh haveli in Gur ki Mandi now a municipal school, the two Bagchi buildings, Heeng ki mandi’s Khadim Ali’s mansion, the Chawal Wala Bagh haveli in Sultan Ganj, the glazed house in Seo ka Bazar, among the best that need to be looked after. The Chaubey ji ka Phatak in Phulatti is more like a modern enclave, enclosed from all sides for security reasons, Smith adds.

The city of the Taj Mahal lives in several centuries and periods right from the Mughal, the Rajputs, the Marathas, the British, the post-independent era and now the modern. Relics and remains of each age are still going strong and inspiring even as the modern architectural designs and township plans are being executed to give the city a contemporary look and ambience.