On 27th we visited Kasba , saw the border and took a glimpse of Comilla soil. Our next program was fixed to Udaipur by
Ratan Da. We were told to sleep early
and get up in the very morning. Udaipur is about 55 kms. from Khayerpur where
we are staying. However, we did not sleep early but got up at the dawn. The old lady- ninety five year old
,Ratan Da's mother & watchful guardian blessed us morning. She also
repeatedly told “ Go to Mata Bari in the
morning otherwise you can not see the deity at ease..Every time there is crowd..
Take her blessings”—With her kind wishes we started.. The same team comprising
Ratan da, Sweta & their daughter ,me along with Krishna & Sanchari plus the eldest sister of Sweta.
On our way I looked at the Hoara Nadi..a lean stream.. we
crossed.. the top of the Chaturdas Dev temple was visible from the windows of
the car.. everybody folded hands and saluted the tutelary devis of Tripura
king. As we move forward we were
looking at the hillocks..locally called tillas.. the road was carved with green
plantations ,,obviously natural. Morning
journey through the Assam road is indeed charming. We saw vally lands in between tillas. Farmers
were busy in growing crops. There were lush green patches all through.
Side by side man’s overpowering
nature was seen. Tills were being cut to
flat lands by giant macine.. old trees are cut down here and there.. space for urbanization is the top activity in Agratala and
surroundings.
While moving, Ratan Da
drew my attraction to the splendid building. It was Tripura University.
I got down and took a few shots. Near to
the University I saw a Palash tree –it was full bloomed.. its colour reminded
me Paschimanchal. The color of soil was
keen to lalmati (red soil).
On the way we were looking at the
tea-gardens. Vast areas are carpeted with tea. It was the off season and tea-plants were uniformly pruned. Tea played a big role in the economy of Tripura.
British factories sprang in Tripura
owing to much availability of rolling lands and cheap labours. However, Ratan
Da mentioned “ lot of your people originating from Chotonagpur were hired
for tea plantation.. they are settled now. In those days
(1860s).. Kukmis of tribal hills frequently invaded tea gardens and
invaded tea colonies..However, later it was settled with the intervention of
British Government.’. Ratan Da is an encyclopaedia of Tripura. I was
listening to his story. The rest co-passengers were enjoying nab. I asked why did Kukmis were arrogant to the
others?-I asked.
Ratan Da smiled and answered “
All about the battle of throne. Whenever
there was rivalry within the Raj family the
contender used to disturb the sitting
king.. It also happened. Many villages
near Udaipur were plundered..many huts were ablaze ..many were made captive by the Kukis. Kukis were hill tribals . Tripura was divided into two parts. One is
Plain Tripura. This part was governed by the Brtitish ruler and the other part
is Hill Tripura. Hill Tripura was independent and was under the control of
Tripura king, however he had to pay taxes
to the Government. Commilla was the
capital of Tripura which was again named as Rosaland. Udaipur was the old
capital of Hill Tripura. “
The car moved and reached
BishalGarh district. I enjoyed the beauty of tea gardens. Ratan Da pointed to the trees which I have never seen earlier. “ These are rubber plants.
Now Tripura is the second state after Kerala in terms of rubber production.
Every inch of soil would be covered by rubber trees. Tea planters also tried to switch over to rubber
plantations. However, public hue & cry and Government intervention stopped
it. Rubber cultivation is a profitable enterprise. “. He also lamented that bio-diversity of
Tripura is threatened by extensive rubber cultivation. By this time we crossed a semi-town named
Charilam.. a beautiful name. Gradually
,we crossed the reserved forests..saw the natural treasure of Tripura and
crossed the Gomati river. Gomati is the Ganges of Tripura. In those days it was
the only means of communication. Gomati
has gone to the Bangladesh. Finally we
came to Udaipur. A serene town
obviously. We got down at the bank
of Rudrasagar. Oh..while entering Udaipur city we found numerous lakes, and
temples. Bijoy Sagar,Jagannath Dihi,Amar sagar and Kalyan sagar are a few lakes
to mention. All these were made by the then Tripura Rajas.
We reached to Tripureswari temple
around 9.30. by this time there were
queues of devotees. This temple is a famous pilgrimage destination of Hindus.
However, tribal of Tripura show great reverence to the deity. . Popularly the temple is known as Matabari. . it was constructed by Maharaja Dhanya
Manikya Debbarma
in 1501 Mythology says, Sati’s right foot fell here during Lord Shiva’s Dance.
Krishna ,Sweta were well prepared in worshiping the deity. This is one of the
51 sakti piths. Tripura was known by the Tripureswari devi from time
immemorial. The temple is situated in a gentle hillock. The hill is just a replica of Tortoise and
people call the holy place as Kurma
Pitha. Every year on Diwali, a famous Mela takes place near the temple which is
visited by more than two lakhs pilgrims. I made a round the temple. I saw many devotees have brought animals for
sacrifice. Animal sacrifice is a common way of pleasing devi here. Ratan da
told me “ Human sacrifice was in vogue in the princely state. I will show you the
spot at Bhubaneswari temple.”
Tripura kings shifted to
Khayerpur (old Agartala) during 1760 and took their tutelary Goddess Chaturdash
Dev there but did not move the deity of
Tripura sundari. Till date the deity is worshiped by the red-lobed priests who
happened to be the descendants of Raj-purohits.
Krishna ,Sweta and didi were satisfied after seeing the deity
and offerings to the Goddess. We came down the tilla and took a bit rest at
Kayan sagar beneath the temple. It is splendid
and another attraction of Udaipur.
It was also crowded. Many were feeding the fish & tortoises. At present the number of tortoises have come
down . The banks were made of briks and cements and the pretty tortoises feel
it uncomfortable to stay. We were
talking about human and animal conflicts.
A mid aged tribal women intervened and said ‘ The deity is living one..a few days back a
giant tortoise went up to the temple and unnoticed..finally it died better say
sacrificed for our welfare”.—The strong belief
- I can not explain or she will not listen to otherwise.!!
Now our destination is Shanti’s residence. 2 Kms. Far from the
temple. Shanti arranged stupendous lunch for us. I was moved with their
hospitality. After lunch and a short break we moved towards Bhubaneswari
temple. The temple reminds me Rabindranath Tagore. His famous Bisarjan or
Rajharshi come to my mind as I feel Bhubaneswari temple. The excitement
went up when I saw a beautiful building
named after Rajharshi while crossed Shanti’s house.
Again we have to ride tillas and
cross magnificent slopes of Udaipur to reach the temple. the Bhuvaneswari
Temple Tripura is a rare specimen of temple architecture. The temple of
Bhubaneswari at Tripura was built by Maharaja Govinda Manikya, is located near
the old Royal palace of Maharaja Govinda Manikya constructed during 1660-1675
A.D. The palace is is ina dilapidated condition. Recently archaeological department unearthed many
aretefacts, historical documents etc.
Again we saw the Gomati river. A
statue of Rabindranath here witnesses
the great poet, his love for Tripura and Tripura people. I saw the dreaded spot
where human sacrifice used to be done to appease the Goddess.
It was evening , we started for Khayerpur with memory and joy.
