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Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Hindus all have their places of worship here, most of which are ancient. Few cities in India perhaps have such a diversity of shrines.

Agra is headquarters of the Radha-Soami faith. The 500-year-old Akbar’s Church and the Guru Ka Taal Gurdwara are equally revered by the faithful.

With Mathura-Vrindavan just 50 km away, the entire area around Agra draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and domestic tourists round the year.

Two new centres of faith are also proving to be a big draw. The Tirupati Balaji temple in Sadar Bazaar and the Sai Baba temple on the Raja Ki Mandi crossing are the latest add-ons to the list of religious tourist sites here.

The Sai Baba temple that has recently come up on the city’s main traffic intersection attracts hundreds of devotees.

Another centre of faith that continues to attract thousands of people is the temple of Hanuman (monkey god) at the St John’s College crossing. On Tuesdays and Saturdays, the premises become a fair ground as thousands of devotees come to pray.

In the 1970s, it used to be a small temple. “But now it is a full-fledged complex that supports half a dozen sweetmeat sellers in the vicinity,” recalls a devotee.

Attendance at the Sher Jung and Abu Lala ka dargah has also registered a significant increase.
The Guru Ka Taal Gurdwara on the national highway is a favourite with local residents and truckers, who never forget to pray at the old Sikh shrine. Located inside the Sikandra (Akbar’s tomb) complex, it is said to have been visited by four of the 10 Sikh gurus. The gurdwara was built over the place where Guru Tegh Bahadur offered his arrest to Mughal king Aurangzeb.