A kos minar (see minar near the center of the image) on the GT road that connects Agra and Lahore

When we walk we ask, “how far to the next village?” The answer — usually accurate — from walkers, “paas mein hi hai. Teen kos door.” (It is close enough, 3 kos away.)

A kos is ~3km. Kos minars or mile-markers, 30 ft high minars, dot the roads from Agra to Lahore, Agra to Ajmer, Agra to Mandu. Commissioned by the Afghan Emperor Sher Shah Suri along the Grand Trunk road, kos minars were continued to be built by Mughal Emperors.

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