Exploration of Chandpur in Lalitpur | Trip-4

The Explore Bundelkhand Team explored Chandpur near Deograh in Lalitpur district in trip no 4. Mueen Akhtar, Vikrant Jha & Dr. Brajesh Kumar made the exploration of Chandpur in Lalitpur. They have two students Vishal Pratap Singh and Tanuj Vishvash too. The team explored 5 monuments located at the same places just within walking distance. This destination of Chandpur was the package for crazy and passionate art lovers like Mueen, Vikrant & Brajesh. However, the whole day they spent exploring Chandpur monuments.

About Destination- Chandpur

Chandpur village is very short and less connected to the city. The village is located in Lalitpur Tahsil in Lalitpur district UP, India. It is 31 Km away from Lalitpur. It is 37 Km away from Lalitpur, 12 Km from Deogarh, 12 Km from Dhaura, and 438 Km from Lucknow.

This village is situated near a railway line. Indeed all the Hindu and Jain Temples are located near the railway line. There is a short population of people. Hardly, there will be around 9 to 10 houses in the village. A single road through a dense jungle connects the village. No other facilities are there. In fact, the area makes us feel a purity of nature.

Past Trips

Day, Time & Route

Sunday, 01 Jan 2023, at 9 am in the morning, Dr. Brajesh Kumar started by his own car from his home to Chandpur in Lalitpur. Along with him, his two students- Vishal Pratap Singh, and Tanuj Vishvash were in the car. On the way, he had to pick up Mueen Akhtar and Vikrant Jha. After picking up Mueen Akhtar from Sangam Vihar colony Jhansi, they took the route of Raksa Babina bypass highway to reach Talbehat. After reaching Talbhehat, they took Vikrant Jha with them.

Exploration of Chandpur group of Temples

This trip is focused to paint this great architecture and its art. So 11 am onwards, Mueen Akhtar started his Plein-air painting. He captures one of the sides of the temple with watercolor on paper. He showed them how to do basic drawing with a pencil to watercolor wash. Finally, after a couple of hours of continuous work, he made a masterpiece. He did step-by-step work and demonstrated how to do watercolor painting. The students who were with them took some tips from Mueen Akhtar regarding watercolor painting.

On the other hand, Dr. Brajesh Kumar Along with his students explained the details of the monuments. He captured the details of the monument with his DSLR camera. He also taught the students about cameras and photography.

Highlights of The Trip

The trip was made on Sunday, 01 Jan 2023.
Mr. Mueen Akhtar, Vikrant Jha, Dr. Brajesh Kumar, and two students- Vishal Pratap Singh & Tanuj Vishvash were on this trip.
Around 12.30, they reached Chandpur.
Mueen Akhtar, Vikrant Jha & Brajesh explored The group of temples and other old ancient ruins in its vicinity.
The structures were in bad condition. These historical pieces of evidence need special attention & care. If possible, the ruins part of the shrine may be assembled.
Watercolor Masters Mueen Akhtar & Vikrant Jha made a masterpiece with watercolor on paper. It was so beautiful enhancing the beauty of the sanctum of Laxmi Narayan Temple.
In the evening, spending the whole day, the team returned to Lalitpur at 6.30 pm. They had light refreshments with tea & snacks there.
They started all the way to Talbehat in their car. On the way, before Talbehat, they had Dinner in a Dhaba.

Around 8.55 pm they dropped Vikrant Jha in Talbehat. There, They met with Pradeep (the Sculpturist of Talbehat). Mueen Akhtar & Dr. Brajesh had a light discussion on Bundelkhand architecture & sculpture with Dr. Pradeep.
After the discussion was over, they started all the way to Jhansi. But, as they crossed the Tol plaza of Babina, they had to face dense fog on the highway. So, they reached Jhansi by reducing the speed of the car slowly. Around 10.45, the car dropped Mueen Akhtar at his home. In this way, the trip ended.

Conclusion

Chandpur is a very nice destination if you looking for a different monument site. This site tells us how rich is Bundelkhand Region in Sculpture & Temple architecture. However, Chandpur village is the package of having many monuments in one place. This place makes us feel the purity of nature and the rich wealth of stones. In fact, every stone scattered here & there seems to tell us the story of its past history.

I feel thrilled when I imagine the scene when these all were in their time. It had been a very holy place or a pilgrim destination. Definitely, two Temple at the water pond would have been so attractive and full of people crowd. According to a local villager, there has been a big market or fair in which thousand of bangle sellers came. I wish we have a clear history of this fantastic place!
-Mueen Akhtar

Overall, It was a successful trip in Explore Bundelkhand campaign. Our team of the campaign got energy and charged their self up for exploring more and more. Again, artists, Mueen & Vikrant got their masterpieces in watercolor painting. While students under Dr. Brajesh Kumar got lots of material for their hunting with their cameras.