Ujjayanta Palace

The Manikya rulers of Tripura built Ujjayanta in 1901 after an earthquake destroyed the previous palace, in Indo-Saracenic style with three domes, the largest about twenty-six metres high, tiled floors and a Chinese-worked ceiling in one hall, set in Mughal-style gardens with two large tanks. Rabindranath Tagore, who visited Tripura repeatedly and had a long association with its rulers, gave the palace its name. It housed the state legislative assembly from 1973 until 2011, when the assembly moved and the building became the state museum, opened in 2013, covering the region's tribal communities, history, sculpture and crafts.

History

The first Ujjayanta Palace was built in 1862, 10 km from Agartala, by King Ishan Chandra Manikya, and was devastated by the Assam earthquake of 1897. Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya built the present palace in the heart of Agartala between 1899 and 1901, through Martin and Burn Co., at a cost of 10 lakh rupees, and the name was given by the poet Rabindranath Tagore; the government of Tripura bought it from the royal family in 1972-73, it housed the legislative assembly until July 2011, and on 25 September 2013 it opened as the state museum (Wikipedia, Ujjayanta Palace).

Highlights

• The three domes - the Indo-Saracenic front with its central dome.
• The tiled halls - interiors including a Chinese-crafted ceiling.
• The gardens and tanks - Mughal-style grounds around the building.
• The state museum - Tripura's tribal, historical and craft collections.

When to go

October to March; Agartala summers are hot and humid and the monsoon heavy. The museum closes on Mondays. The palace is lit in the evening.

Good to know

Photography inside is restricted. The museum presentation is modest. Agartala has limited other visitor infrastructure and connections are mostly through Kolkata or Guwahati.

Nearby

Neermahal lies south; the Bangladesh border is close.