Ujjayanta Palace

The Ujjayanta Palace (Nuyungma in Kokborok language) is a museum and the former palace of the Kingdom of Tripura situated in Agartala, which is now the capital of the Indian state of Tripura. The palace was constructed between 1899 and 1901 by Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya Debbarma and stands on the banks of two lakes surrounded by gardens inspired by the Mughal style . It was the home of the ruling Manikya dynasty until Tripura's merger into India in October 1949. The palace was purchased from the royal family by the Government of Tripura in 1972–73 for Rs. 2.5 million, and used to house the State Legislative Assembly until July 2011. Ujjayanta Palace is now a State Museum and it primarily showcases the lifestyle, arts, culture, tradition and utility crafts of communities residing in northeast India, along with a lot of stone sculptures, coinage of the Manikya dynasty and some other artefacts.

Ujjayanta Palace

Nuyungma
The Royal palace of Tripura
Established	1901 (1901)
Location	Agartala, Tripura, India
Type	State Museum
Architect	Sir Alexander Martin (Martin and Burn Co.)

Kingdom of Tripura
Part of History of Tripura
Kings of Tripura Maha Manikya c. 1400–1431 Dharma Manikya I 1431–1462 Ratna Manikya I 1462–1487 Pratap Manikya 1487 Vijaya Manikya I 1488 Mukut Manikya 1489 Dhanya Manikya 1490–1515 Dhwaja Manikya 1515–1520 Deva Manikya 1520–1530 Indra Manikya I 1530–1532 Vijaya Manikya II 1532–1563 Ananta Manikya 1563–1567 Udai Manikya 1567–1573 Joy Manikya I 1573–1577 Amar Manikya 1577–1585 Rajdhar Manikya I 1586–1600 Ishwar Manikya 1600 Yashodhar Manikya 1600–1623 Interregnum 1623–1626 Kalyan Manikya 1626–1660 Govinda Manikya 1660–1661 Chhatra Manikya 1661–1667 Govinda Manikya 1661–1673 Rama Manikya 1673–1685 Ratna Manikya II 1685–1693 Narendra Manikya 1693–1695 Ratna Manikya II 1695–1712 Mahendra Manikya 1712–1714 Dharma Manikya II 1714–1725 Jagat Manikya 1725–1729 Dharma Manikya II 1729 Mukunda Manikya 1729–1739 Joy Manikya II 1739–1744 Indra Manikya II 1744–1746 Vijaya Manikya III 1746–1748 Lakshman Manikya 1740s/1750s Interregnum 1750s–1760 Krishna Manikya 1760–1783 Rajdhar Manikya II 1785–1806 Rama Ganga Manikya 1806–1809 Durga Manikya 1809–1813 Rama Ganga Manikya 1813–1826 Kashi Chandra Manikya 1826–1829 Krishna Kishore Manikya 1829–1849 Ishan Chandra Manikya 1849–1862 Bir Chandra Manikya 1862–1896 Radha Kishore Manikya 1896–1909 Birendra Kishore Manikya 1909–1923 Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya 1947–1949 1949–1978 (titular) Kirit Pradyot Manikya 1978–present (titular)
Tripura monarchy data
Manikya dynasty (Royal family)
Agartala (Capital of the kingdom)
Ujjayanta Palace (Royal residence)
Neermahal (Royal residence)
Rajmala (Royal chronicle)
Tripura Buranji (Chronicle)
Chaturdasa Devata (Family deities)

History

Tripura claims to be one of the oldest princely states of ancient India. The royal line of Tripura began during the reign of Maharaja Maha Manikya, who was crowned in 1400 AD, and was the first ruler under the royal title of Manikya. Ujjayanta Palace was built in 1862, 10 km (6 mi) away from Agartala, by King Ishan Chandra Manikya (1849–1862). It was devastated by the Assam earthquake of 12 June 1897.[1] The palace was rebuilt in the heart of Agartala city by Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya in 1899–1901, at a cost of 10 lakh (1 million) rupees. It was built by Martin and Burn Co.,[2] and served as the model of the Maharajah's palace in Tintin and the Cigars of the Pharaoh.

Main promenade leading to the palace

As state assembly building

Upon the merger of the Kingdom of Tripura with India in 1949, royal properties were nationalised. The main building along with the area around the palace was purchased from the royal family by the Tripura government in 1972–73.[2] It housed the Tripura Legislative Assembly until July 2011 when the assembly moved to a new location 6 km (3.7 mi) north of Agartala.[3]

As state museum

The museum was given seismic retrofitting to prevent possible earthquake damage,[4] and the museum was inaugurated by the Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari on 25 September 2013.[5][6]

Early in the museum's history, controversy erupted over the state government's proposed move to change the name of Ujjayanta Palace to Tripura State Museum. The Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT) has written to Vice-President, Hamid Ansari, protesting that the name of the museum should reflect the history and heritage of the region.[7][8] Pradyut Bikram Kishore Debbarma, the titular king of Tripura said, "The palace is a historical spot. It doesn’t belong to the members of the erstwhile royal family alone, neither does it solely belongs to the government. It belongs to Tripura and somebody in the government can’t suddenly impose a decision to change its name".[9] The government decided to keep the original name of Ujjayanta Palace and to build a statue of Maharaj Radha Kishore Manikya on the museum premises.[10]

A panoramic view of the palace.

Design

The Ujjayanta Palace compound covers an area of approximately 1 km² (250 acres) and includes public rooms such as the throne room, durbar hall, library and reception hall.[11] The buildings and grounds cover 800 acres (3.2 km²) in the heart of Agartala. The neoclassical palace was designed by Sir Alexander Martin of the Martin and Burn Company. The two-storied palace has three large domes, the largest of which is 86 ft (26 m) high, and which rests atop a four-storied central tower. The architecture shows a mix of influences: Mughal, Roman and British[2] There are two large artificial ponds on either side of the garden which is decorated with pools and fountains.

Several Hindu temples occupy plots adjacent to Ujjayanta Palace, dedicated to Lakshmi Narayan, Uma-Maheshwari, Durga and Jagannath.[11]

Gallery

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  Ujjayanta Palace at night.
• 
  A view from a different angle of the Ujjayanta Palace.
• 
  A part of the northern area of the Ujjayanta Palace.
• 
  The back lawn under construction at Ujjayanta Palace.

References

1. "Historic Earthquakes". Earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
2. Sujit Chakraborty (24 September 2013). "Tripura's royal mansion to house northeast's biggest museum". Newindianexpress.com. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
3. "Tripura Assembly building inaugurated". Telegraphindia.com. 23 July 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
4. Supratim Bhowmik; et al. "Retrofitting of heritage building "Ujjayanta Palace" in Agartala – a case study". Academia.edu. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
5. "India renovates heritage building". English.cctv.com. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
6. "Northeast India's biggest museum to open on Sep 25". Firstpost.com. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
7. Sekhar Datta (20 September 2013). "History finds royal quarters". Telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
8. Press Trust of India (17 September 2013). "Tribals protest renaming of Tripura palace". business-standard.com. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
9. K Anurag (23 September 2013). "Tripura govt relents to mass protests against renaming of palace". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
10. "Tripura museum to retain name of Ujjayanta Palace". The Times of India. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
11. "Ujjayanta Palace, Agartala". gobibo.com. Retrieved 2 August 2016.

External links

Video of Ujjayanta Palace