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Kanpur City Surprised Me With Its Street Art

Moti Jheel, Wall art

Exactly 10 days ago, my cousin got married in Kanpur and it was a beautiful and cherish-able occasion for the whole family. I got a chance to return to this city after 10 years. Unfortunately, like last time, I once again had only few hours at my disposal before the evening function. Thanks to Delhi to Lucknow Shatabdi train which reaches Kanpur by 11:30, I had the half day for exploring the lanes and streets of the city which is famous for two reasons. First it is a big industrial city of Uttar Pradesh, situated on the banks of Ganges (good) and second, it is a crowded city & badly lacks traffic sense. Yes, I got to see both sides of it.

 
My Travel and Art Series –  The Mysore Wall Art

Kanpur, Central, Railway Station
When I traveled to Kanpur on 8th December

 
 

Google it – Things to do in Kanpur

The best part was that I had an access to a car and a local driver who keenly introduced me to some of the nearby places but the worst part was that I had to face traffic snarls, especially around the famous Mall road. First and foremost, I googled to look for things to do and then zeroed on four places – Moti Jheel, Ganga Barrage (Lav Khush Barrage, a bridge across the Ganges),  Anandeshwar Mandir (Parmat) in Civil Lines area which is one of the most renowned Shiva temple and central business district road, i.e. Mall Road. 3 hours were good enough to touch upon these few places and I enjoyed the ride. In my next post, I will talk about how to spend a few hours in Kanpur but in this one I am going to surprise everyone with the fact that even Kanpur has wall art that sends out different social messages. I had no expectations of finding art or anything remotely related to art in Kanpur but the city conspired and helped me in continuing my ‘Travel and art series’.

 
 

  1. Moti Jheel
  2. Ganga Barrage
  3. Parmat Mandir (temple)
  4. Mall Road

 
 

Moti lake, Kanpur, Cities of Uttar Pradesh
Though the lake is half dried, we were happy to see these ducks playing with each other.

 
 

Luv Khush Barrage
Bridge by the banks of river Ganges in the city of Kanpur

 
 

Parmat temple
I felt blessed to be able to make it to the much-famed Shiva temple of the city

 
 

5 things that you must eat in Kanpur

Hailing from Lucknow, I can vouch for the fact that one should never miss having chaat-paapri in any city of Uttar Pradesh. In addition, Aaloo dhaniya (boiled potato in coriander sauce) and Makhan malaai (whipped cream) are two other famous things that you cannot dare to miss in Kanpur city. While we discussed the local delicacies and a famous tea stall that my husband had visited once, the driver told us about two famous local brands, Thaggu ke laddu and Badnaam Kulfi, which are well known for serving savoury sweets and home-made ice creams respectively.

 
 

  1. Bataashe (Golgappe) and chaat
  2. Aaloo Dhaniya
  3. Makhan Malai
  4. Thaggu ke laddu
  5. Badnaam Kulfi (stick ice-cream)

 
 

The Street Art of Kanpur came as a big-big surprise

But, but of all these things, I can’t even explain how thrilled I was to reach the street where Moti Jheel is located. More than the excitement of reaching the first place on my list and seeing the lake that is all dried up, my eyes fell on the walls that make the boundary of the lake and I jumped with joy. The sight of splash of colors, artistic drawings, messages and wall paintings lit up my eyes. I was happy because ever since I had started to look for art in every city, no place had disappointed me. Even Kanpur din’t.

 

Travel and Art Series – Explore Kuala Kubu Baru through its local street art
 

The lovely collection of art-work that I found along the boundary wall and fences of Moti Jheel are as below.  I am not sure but the messages, the use of bright colors, naive layouts hinted that they were done by young artists, maybe school or college students.

 
 

Travel and Art blogger
The boundary wall and the fencing area around Moti Jheel in Kanpur

 
 
Kanpur street art, Wall art, Travel and art

 
 

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While I was filled with joy to capture these little pieces of work on the roadside,  I was elated to get lucky with yet another wall while I was on the way to the Anandeshwar Mandir (Parmat). I think it was Civil lines area. There were two walls here but one was completely covered by green cloth. I guess some construction was going around there because I could not find a way to get close to the street art.

 
 

While I was sulking that I could not capture anything, another wall appeared and it had some beautiful artwork that blended in pretty well with the bushes, trees and the neighborhood. I immediately asked the driver to park the car on the side and got down to admire the work and capture them through my phone camera. I know my husband was irritated but he was co-operative at the same time. There were people on the road who were staring at me for stopping by those artwork. I am sure they thought I was mad but I was happy at the idea finding more. My plan of travelling more and more and discovering local art, street art was really working out well.

 
 
These were some mature paintings done by serious artists.
 
 

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Happy Travelling!!!

12 thoughts on “Kanpur City Surprised Me With Its Street Art

  1. Street art can really brighten up a place. If love to know who paints them and when they do it as I’ve never seen a street artist at work.

    Also, yum, potato in coriander sounds incredible…i may have to rush out to an Indian restaurant is!

  2. Kanpur looks amazing, especially with all the lively street art. Indian food is my favourite cuisine and I’ve tried malaai, which I literally put on top of everything from waffles to fruit and it’s delicious! I’m sure the other food options are just as flavorful

  3. Never there were street arts in India, yes, I know of its culture, unity in diversity, temples but not street art. Finding one will be surprising and what more, they are beautiful, colorful and creative. I’m also a team tour local, one will be amazed on the findings.

  4. I have to admit, I love finding street art on on my travels, nothing makes me happier (well there are a few things) but I love it when I’m wondering the streets and find street art, it can keep me occupied for hours.

    Normally when you see street art it’s done by spray paint, I love that the ones you’ve pictured are just painted and drawn on, I dunno it just seems to give it a more authenticness

  5. You have collected some incredible street art from Kanpur. A colorful riot there.
    I am also keen about the food in Kanpur… may be another post in that 😉 ? I have hardly seen any travel post on Kanpur, so these glimpses were great.

  6. Street art is really making Kanpur very lively and colorful. I would love to go to famed Lord shiva temple. River Ganges with the bridge is a beautiful shot. 5 things must to eat in Kanpur are so tempting specially Aloo Dhaniya and Kulfi.

  7. It is indeed a big surprise to see this and that too in Kanpur. I like the little crayon kind of feel to those pictures. However, the most interesting ones are the slice of life ones from the Indian scenario. Makes it so unique.

  8. I never knew Kanpur is such a beautiful city and there are so many things to do. Love the expressive street art, the majestic river and the glorious temple! Oh those ducks are so cute! I would love to try the 5 local cuisines you’ve listed. Thanks for sharing this lovely post. Kanpur is definitely a worth visit destination. 🙂

  9. Hey, what an unlikely thing to highlight about Kanpur. Though I am from the city, haven’t looked into this aspect. I guess the place one lives in/had lived in becomes such a mundane part of existence that you stop looking around. A lesson for me in that

  10. I have lived in Kanpur for a decade. I grew up there. There was no graffiti culture then. Maybe I should make a trip again to see it. I like the fact that the street art here comes with a cultural and social message.

  11. Where can i find a graffiti ,in kanpur. As i have to shoot on of my videos , so please. Help me

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