Tripura Diary: Destination Niramhal

The whole world has almost stopped in this global epidemic of coronavirus. All the plans of the wanderlust have been thwarted. Reminiscences of travel, pictures and stories in this time of boundless danger. Just a few days before the spread of Corona in the country, I went to Tripura, the smallest state of the Seven Sisters. In the last episode, I wrote about Unkoti, one of Tripura’s most visited places. Today, the second and last part of tripura trip ‘Melaghar’ is for the reader. Hopefully, it will give you some peace of mind during this time of confinement.

I returned to Agartala from Unkoti after crossing the road of about 200 km. When thinking of where to spend the night without spending the night in the city, Melaghar’s Sagarmahal came to mind. Since the plan is to go to Melaghar tomorrow to see Niramhal , it is better to reach today. But I was a little hesitant thinking about the distance.

In an unfamiliar area of a foreign country, do not go to the night and get into trouble with the place to stay! When he called Manoj Da, a resident of Agartala, he assured him how to go. Not to mention the sincerity of this wanderlust man from Agartala throughout the tour. A tourist’s mind should be so generous. As planned, I got off the train and headed towards Sipahijla Melaghar without entering the city. I got the bus after a short wait. The distance from Agartala to Melaghar is 53 km, a journey of about two hours. Although the journey was a little longer, the tempting thought of sitting on the banks of Melaghar lake and watching the moon was running in my mind. It was 7:30 on arrival. I wandered around the Melaghar market and ate a piece of sweets and headed towards Sagarmahal.

Sagarmahal is located next to the natural lake Rudrasagar, about one kilometer away from the main road. It was a bit scary to walk along the dark road. The narrow road ends near the lake. Neermahal, one of Agartala’s most visited places, was lit up by the marshes. On asking a local, he showed me the main gate of Sagarmahal. This Agartala government guest house is well known due to its location. Apart from this, it is also known that many leaders of Bangladesh were hiding here at various times. Seeing the darkness around, I understood the impending danger. After entering through the gate, I came to know that Sagarmahal has been closed for the past few months. I wasn’t quite ready for this news. Anyway, I returned to Melaghar with a broken heart. I was more disappointed while looking for a hotel to stay the night. When I saw that there are two boarding type hotels, there are no rooms available in one of them. There was some concern about the shortage of overnight accommodation in this area bordering foreign countries. After talking with the locals, I headed towards Sonamura border. Got a local transport but left late. However, I reached Sonamura in a short time. Our Comilla district is next to the border. I have heard the name of this border many times from my friends in Comilla, but I never thought that I would have the opportunity to spend the night here. People here speak in a Comilla tone. In many places of Agartala, the language of Comilla and Sylhet is heard more. In fact, language can no longer be blocked with barbed wire. Almost everyone in Sonamura has relatives on the other side. Meanwhile, several mosques and madrassas have been seen, which have not been seen on the other side. There are also many temples. The map is now different, no matter how similar it is to the other side. So the reality is different. The night is growing. Looking for a hotel was quite difficult and finally a relatively expensive but good accommodation was found at Hotel Sarojini.

I got up early in the morning to use the time. I looked around. It is seen that our Comilla is part of this bank of Dukha Gomti. Still quite lively, fresh. There is also a hanging bridge over this river. When you see such a river, you think about the plight of the country’s rivers.

After breakfast from the hotel, I left for Neermahal by auto. I reached Rajghat in a short time. From here the boat leaves for Niramahl . Niramhal floating on the water could be seen from a distance . Neermahal was originally the summer residence of Veer Vikram Manikya Bahadur, the last king of independent Tripura. The work of the palace was completed in 1938, a fusion of Hindu-Muslim tradition and culture. Such mahals in the water are seen only in Rajasthan in the whole of India apart from Tripura.

Instead of waiting for the schedule engine boat, I fixed the reserve boat for 350 taka and left. In addition to Pankauri, several birds were seen in the lake. The closer I got, the more I was impressed by this wonderful white palace. It took half an hour to reach by standing boat. I entered as the first tourist of the day. Here you have to pay more for the camera than the ticket.

The palace is mainly divided into inner and outer parts. At that time, the inner palace was for the royal family and the outer palace had various arrangements including Durbar hall, dance hall, open stage, dome guarding the soldiers, accommodation for them. In total there are 24 rooms here. I looked around the palace from this end to that end. According to the rules, the visit must be completed in 40 minutes, or the boatman will have to pay extra for it. All the rules including rent are kept at the boat wharf.

Anyway, started on my way back after chatting with the boatman. After reaching Melaghar, I boarded the bus without delay. Destination Agartala city. This journey ends here. See you somewhere else.