By Smitha Prakash
Agartala : Journeys, sojourns, escapades, trips whatever! you name it!! Come in any form, it does possess the most underrated quality to reset and rejuvenate a human mind! May be that is the most basic reason why the mankind, from time immemorial, has been persistently seeking to travel, travel to the most unknown and unheard places, where they can immerse into somthing new and different. For some, it’s just a change of pattern. But for some, if comes as a tool for learning and the act of widening their sphere of wisdom. In any case, these experiences are completely capable of chiseling away the sediments of mundane routines in a very subtle way and essentially reboot one’s mind!
With the roll out of New Economic Policies in the early 90s, there was a sea of progressive changes happening to Indian Economy. The growth thus occurred got an extra push with the advent of Internet and it’s spread along the cross section of population in the last decade. Tourism has become a mainstay in this period, besides many other sectors which got evolved on it’s own. Apart from being a catalyst for economic surge, Tourism is equally very crucial to social & cultural development of the nation, through meaningful exchanges between People, Cultures & Regions!
Tripura, one of the seven-sisters of Northeast has been blessed with unmatched natural beauty and a bunch of unique places of tourist interest, strewn across the sprawl of the State. With each tourist attraction belonging to an entirely different genre of significance, the set of places naturally creates a balance among the traveller categories! There are places of historical, mythical, religious and archeological importance, a kaleidoscope which not many could boast of! This is apart from the beauty of lush rural landscapes, endlessly rolling fields, misty hills and riverine countrysides! Nevertheless, these resources go unnoticed to an extend or otherwise gets less tourist inflow, which is way too much lower than what the State deserves, indeed.
Ujjayanta Palace is a visual treat for the beholders; not less than any other monument of it’s kind. The palace flanked by it’s Mughal inspired dual-lakes and curated gardens, stand as instances of splendid architectural brilliance. This palace classifies as one with the neoclassical and saracenic elements blended to it’s perfection. The Complex houses the State Museum and Archives in various gallaries and proves to be a perfect place for indulging in an authentic historical charm. This could effectively satiate the scholarly bunch as well, with the presence of a well exhibited Museum in it’s credit. There are more places in the State, which comes under the category of historical significance. The Manikya summer palace Neermahal, Pushpabanta palace, Unakoti, Bhubaneswari temple Complex etc being a few among the lot.
Bhubaneswari temple complex is a place which one with a taste for history, should never miss. Udaipur had served as Capital of Manikyas for sometime before the capital getting shifted to Agartala. With it’s connections to the most powerful Kingdom of Tripura, the Complex stands out as a very specific place overladen with mysterious stories and a visibly overwhelming ambiance to cater to the visitors. The pale red brick structured Pagoda standing aloof at the Complex dons an enigmatic aura around it. There is something mysteriously shrouding above the overgrown wild plants on it’s crown. We will see it straight or will be enlightened to it especially when one dig deep into the history of the place and diligently lurks around the anecdotes connected to it. The complex consists of the main temple constructed in an alluring ‘char-chala’ style, the sanctum of Bhubaneswari, the old run down palace of Manikyas, a memorial to Tagore and many more. There are tales relating to the works of Tagore, Rajarshi & Visarjan and the serenades of human sacrifices too to add to the riddles. The place has got a million stories, yet to be told. The winds brewing above River Gomati might be yearning for it.
Nature stands deep laden with silence and a mirthful smile at Unakoti. The dense woods to the likes of Chabimura, Dumbur, Jempui, are similarly robbed off the hum and rumbles of outside world and are filled with a soul-soothing music of Nature in it’s crudest form. Montang valley, being a new sensation among the youth for it’s pristine hills and floating clouds, couldn’t be left out from mentioning.
Furthermore, Pilak, a site of archeological importance can be visited at the South District. The excavated exhibits dates back to as late as 8th Century and the erstwhile Culture boasts of coexistence of multiple religious philosophies, a thing which truly pique our curiosity.
Religious centres over the State are already getting it’s fair share of pilgrims every year without much break in flow and the percentage may witness a steady growth in coming years too. Tripura Sundari Temple known as Matabari, one among the 51 Shakti Peethas and also one of the 18 most important Peethas, is thronged by worshippers all the time, indeed. The fact that this temple is located at Udaipur, which qualifies to be called as the Temple City of Tripura, can be made into full use by designing special transportation facilities enabling pilgrims to cover major deities at one single trip. This will be of great help to the pilgrims coming from far outside the State, especially to cover the Shakti Peetha trail.
In a recent analysis, it is stated that the tourist inflow to the State, for the year 2023-24 was just around 5.5lacs, including domestic and foreign travellers. This is a dismally low statistics to say about a State with huge potential of sundry attractions and a vast countryside with a trail of beautiful and rustic villages as assets. Tapping the true potential of Tourism, to it’s full capacity is not a himalayan task, with the State being well connected to outside through the second biggest Airport in Northeast. MBB Airport situated at the capital city Agartala is serving connections to Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore & Chennai in addition to the intra-region connections to Guwahati & Imphal. Now, it’s high time to give an impetus to the Tourism Sector of the State, to cash in the immense capabalities of the State and to thus bring in more economic activities around such places, there by boosting development a bit more. Also stress the need to focus on Sustainability on it’s sidelines as a latent quality of responsible tourism. There is no other occasion best suited than World Tourism Day, to have a serious thought on to it. So let’s contemplate..!
