State of India - Tripura

Area: 10,491.69 sq km

Population: 27,57,205

Capital Of City: Agartala

Languages: Bengali and Kokborak

Crops:

How You Know: In older times local kings would carry a small image of the goddess called "Chotta Ma" on their hunting trips for good luck! Some of these are still kept in the Tripura Sundari temple.

History: One of the 'Seven sister states' of the Northeast, Tripura is also a border State surrounded by Bangladesh on three sides. The name Tripura is believed to have originated from Tripura Sundari - the most famous deity of the land. The temple of Tripura Sundari at Udaipur is one of the famous 51 pilgrimage places of the Hindus. It is also known as Kurma Pith because of its peculiar shape, which resembles a tortoise. Prior to independence, Tripura had a long history of being a semi-independent region under the rule of the Maharajas of the Manikya dynasty. In 1947, the Regent Maharani signed over the accession of the state to the Indian government. In older times local kings would carry a small image of the goddess called "Chotta Ma" on their hunting trips for good luck! Some of these are still kept in the Tripura Sundari temple. The land-locked state has a variety of forests and wildlife, which serve as a major tourist attraction. There are four wildlife sanctuaries in Tripura namely Rowa, Sepahijala, Trishna and Gumti. The Sepahijala sanctuary is famous for its "Barbe's Leaf monkey" popularly known as Spectacled Monkey because of its appearance. Unakoti is a famous ancient Indian site about 180km north of Agartala, the capital of Tripura. Here you can see several rock-cut images, which have been carved, into the hills. The site is called Unakoti or 'Less than a crore' after the number the number of images which are supposed to be found in the area. The only Lake palace of eastern India Neermahal is in Tripura. The palace was a summer resort of the kings and was built by the late Maharaja Birbikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur in 1930. Today, the garden area of half the palace is used as an open-air theatre. The royal family of Tripura uses the other half called the Andar Mahal. Fundu Fact There is a legend behind the rock carvings at Unakoti. Once Lord Shiva was going to Kashi along with one crore gods and goddesses. The group decided to halt for the night at location. Shiva ordered all the Gods and Goddesses to wake up before sunrise and proceed for Kashi. However, in the morning, Shiva found he was the only one to get up in time. An angry Shiva cursed them to become stone images and that's what they are till this very day! Fundu Fact The time by road between Dacca (the Capital of Bangladesh) and Agartala (capital of Tripura) is only 3 hours. If you lived in Tripura you could travel abroad every day! The Jampui hills around 200 km from Agartala are another important tourist attraction of the State. The hill range comprises 10 villages inhabited by tribes of Lushai and Reang. The highest peak of the range, about 3,000 ft above sea level is lush green. Each new season has its own growth of exotic fruits or orchids and the colour of the hills changes every season due to the varying vegetation. The climate of the place is so good that Jampui is known as the land of permanent spring.