Agartala, May 9: The ruling Left Front government in Tripura has often been accused of showing a casual attitude towards the state's royal legacy. The erstwhile ujir bari (minister's house close to the royal palace) made way for the present town hall, Birchandra public library - established by King Bir Chandra Manikya (1862-1896) - was demolished and shifted to another building in order to widen a road and Neer Mahal - the Northeast's only lake palace, built by king Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya (1923-1947) - is now a pale shadow of its former self.
So, the government's decision to celebrate Rajarshi Utsav, which began yesterday on Rabindranath Tagore's 155th birth anniversary, certainly raised a few eyebrows.
Rajarshi is considered to be Tagore's first major novel. It is based in Tripura and focuses on the perennial conflict between religious fundamentalism and humanitarian ideas with chantai (high priest) Raghupati and king Gobinda Manikya (1662-1666, 1674-1681) as the main characters.
It is said that Tagore, in 1882, sought inputs on Tripura's princely history from the then monarch, Bir Chandra Manikya.
The ruins of the old royal palace of Tripura, mentioned in the novel, still exist, although it lies half buried on the bank of the Gomti river. A renovated temple of Ma Bhubaneshwari is also there.
Rajarshi Utsav and fair is being held around this sunken palace. A large number of artisans and traders have set up shop at the fair, which will continue till Friday.
In a gala opening ceremony, tourism minister Ratan Bhowmik and senior CPM leaders delivered speeches, focussing on the achievements of the state government, but there was no reference about the state's royal heritage nor any plans to restore the old palace.
"This festival and fair are now annual events but this is more of a political jamboree than a cultural event, even though cultural programmes are ritually held every evening. There is no initiative to restore the half-buried palace and make it a tourist spot," said Ratan Bhattacharjee, a social activist. He said Udaipur, which is about 55km from Agartala and famous for the Tripura Sundari temple, has a large number of old temples that are crumbling. "The state government never thinks of repairing or renovating these temples. Even the three major lakes dug under orders of the kings from remote antiquity to Krishna Manikya are being encroached upon with impunity," Bhattacharjee said.
He added that Udaipur, once known as the city of lakes and temples, was fast turning into an over-populated and polluted town.
