Thread by @Hiddenheritage

Been asked what fascinates me abt #Chanderi. More than the fort, baolis, tombs & mosques, Jain rock cut sites & ancient rock art, perhaps what draws me here is the fact that heritage is everywhere in Chanderi. Like this grp of lost temples at Sitamarhi

Spotted in a field outside #Chanderi. Was this structure a shrine or was it part of a walled complex housing a now-lost shrine? It has fragments of icons kept within which probably came from another structure.

Some yrs ago, while wandering through the area outside #Chanderi, bumped into a sadhu. This person didn't say a word, just kept pointing in a certain direction and off I went...

And what did I find? A grp of temples under a huge tree. Lost, abandoned and ruined, their idols thrown aside and damaged. They don't find a place on any protected list, not that lists means much. #Chanderi

Kept walking on that plain outside #Chanderi, ran into another shrine - one which illustrated how temples can be saved from ruin. Perhaps the only way is to give them to the local population to worship in. Sure, they'll paint it in garish colours, but it will survive.

Once upon a time, this was a #Jain temple. And by the size of what remains, a very large one. Today, carved remains are being swallowed by bushes. Just another day of exploration outside #Chanderi.

Outside #Chanderi is a tiny village called #Kadwaha, sometimes written as Kadwaya. This otherwise ordinary place was a Shaivite center in the 10th century CE. 12 temples, identified only by numbers & a monastery remain. Presenting a walk through. These pics frm a twin temple site

The hands that made this! A spectacular panel from another shrine at Kadwaha vil, outside #Chanderi. More pics of this temple tomorrow.

Temples in the wilderness, #Kadwaha, #Chanderi. The larger temple is identified by the ASI only by a number - akin to the identification given to prisoners. The smaller has no identity. It is just there. Incredibly, the larger one has someone conducting worship.

More from #Kadwaha, #Chanderi: Two small shrines, ornately carved jewel boxes. In this case, painstakingly restored by the @ASIGoI.

Another gem from #Kadwaha vil, outside #Chanderi. One of many in a landscape dotted with 10th century CE Shiva shrines. Most richly carved like this one. Glad the ASI has at least restored it to this condition.

Last pics from #Kadwaha, #Chanderi. Some gateways are made in heaven. 10th century CE.

Beginning a walk-through of #Thubon, another temple-filled village close to #Chanderi. Focal point a #Jain temple, the outer appearance of which has been modified with time. One good thing the community has done is to gather icons frm the region around & bring them together here.

The loneliness of a lost temple! The heritage of #Thubon, nr #Chanderi, is a classic example of why private entities, monitored by the govt, need to play a bigger role in heritage. How long will this fragile shrine, surrounded by the rubble of its broken structure, still stand?

Just another day of walking around #Thubon, #Chanderi. A temple whose fragments are scattered around. Possibly 10th-11th century CE. How much more buried under the soil?

Faces from a forgotten past! Which temple did they come from? Which deity do they represent? Another day of wandering around #Chanderi. More from this place tomorrow.

The faces came from a temple site at #Terahi vil, outside #Chanderi. Possibly a temple to Chamunda, locals speak of it as a site for tantric worship. Richly carved, a few examples of which I am sharing.

A set of pictures from the temple at #Terahi vil, #Chanderi. Faces and figures from our past. Stories of lost narratives told in stone.