ATTRACTIONS OF TRIPURA

Our three-day trip to Tripura started on the first week of December last year. We enjoyed exploring the capital city and went on to visit Udaipur, Melaghar, Kasba and Akhaura as well.

Tripura, one of the Northeastern States of India, shares its border with Assam in the north-east, with Mizoram in the east and is surrounded by Bangladesh on its south, west and north. Greenery and water bodies are found in abundance in many regions of the State.

Our first destination was Tripureswari Temple, situated near Udaipur, about 55 kilometres from Agartala. Commonly known as Matabari, this temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths of Hindu mythology. It is believed that Sati’s right leg fell there when Lord Shiva in remorse, performed the celestial dance of destruction, carrying the remains of his wife’s self-immolated body. The temple stands on a small hillock and the beautiful lake, Kalyan Sagar, lies behind it.

Next, we went to Neermahal, the lone water palace of the North-east, situated in Melaghar. This spectacular monument is in the middle of the vast Rudrasagar Lake. After buying our tickets, we proceeded towards the beautiful palace on a motor-boat. The palace is divided into two parts. The main area has two sections, consisting of several rooms and balconies for the king and queen separately. On our journey back on the motor-boat, we spotted some migratory birds.

At Melaghar, we visited the Pagli Mashi temple to get a glimpse of an old woman who is thronged by people to seek her blessings.

We then made our way through Bishalgarh towards the Kali Temple of Kasba. This temple stands on a hillock and the lake Kamalasagar in front, adds to its beauty.

We then headed to Akhaura, about two kilometers away from Agartala. It is the Indo-Bangladesh border where the flag lowering ceremony takes place between the two countries. We clicked pictures at the international border and returned thereafter.

The next day, our first destination was the magnificent white Ujjayanta Palace, the main attraction of the capital city. Popularly known as ‘Rajbari’, this former royal abode of the ruling Manikya dynasty stands on a lakefront and is now the Tripura State Museum.

Located near the Ujjayanta Palace is the Jagannath temple, also known as Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math. After offering prayers, we visited Venuvan Vihar, a Buddhist shrine, located at Kunjaban.

The Heritage Park is another tourist attraction of the city, situated at Kunjaban. The park is designed as mini Tripura, showcasing the undulating landscape with tiny railway stations, and replicas of Tripura’s landmarks. Several water bodies are beautifully presented in miniature form.

The Chaturdas Devata Temple at Old Agartala was the last destination of our trip. This temple is unique as it looks like a stupa and as the name implies, there are 14 deities that are worshipped.

As we moved through the streets of the city, we caught sight of the construction work going on for the long flyover that would be the first in Tripura, which would cover a distance of more than two kilometres. We also went through many Chowmuhanis, which meant crossroads in the local language.

While exploring the attractions of Tripura, we relished the delicious cuisine that included fish curries of the famous hilsa and pavda. Our trip ended well and we brought with us wonderful memories captured in pictures.

[Published in ‘The Assam Tribune’ on 5 January 2018]