Five Days among the Tipperans - Day 4

Boat fares

On the third day evening, we halted at the Sagar Mahal Tourist Lodge at Rajghat, Melaghar. This was by far the best state tourism accommodation yet. The old complex is being renovated, so though while booking we had been allotted Rudra Sagar Lake facing rooms, they were not being let out to tourists. So we were allotted alternative accommodation in spacious rooms in the new building. 

Neer Mahal or "Water Palace" was built by king Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya as the summer retreat. The influence of Muslim architecture is astounding. The Neer Mahal has its western cousin in the Jal Mahal in Jaipur. The later is however not accessible to tourists. 

Here at Neer Mahal, there are frequent ferries which take you across and allows a visit time of forty minutes. One can either book the entire boat or wait for other tourists and book a per head ticket. The ferry starts right adjacent to the Sagar Mahal Tourist Lodge.

The royal ghat inside Neermahal 

Having rested ourselves that night, we were eager for an early start next morning. Surprisingly, we were greeted by heavy cover of fog which hindered our plans of an early morning visit. 

Neermahal

After breakfast around 10, the fog cleared. We took a boat to ourselves as we did not wish to delay any further. A 16-25 seater mechanised boat charges Rs 600 /=. A ten minutes ride brings one to the Neermahal. Entry tickets are Rs 10 and extra for camera. 

The palace has gardens, several dance rooms, living rooms and also a private bank which was used by the royalty. There are spiral stair cases leading upto the roof. We were lucky to have reached at a relatively less crowded period. Having wondered at the architecture and the facilities, we returned ashore.

Choshma Banor at Sepahijala

Continuing on our journey , we left around noon. About an hour's drive and we arrived at the Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary. Sepahijala is by far the most famous wildlife sanctuary/zoo in Tripura, given its proximity to Agartala. It is famous for its clouded leopards and "Choshma Banor" or spectacled langoors. We were , frankly, not very impressed with Sepahijala. It is but a zoo! The place has been commercialized far too much - and the though complete with a zoo hospital et al, the zoo itself not quite well maintained. The cages are too small for the animals and the meshes too closely knit to get a good view or a nice shot! The is the one place, which turned out to be a bit disappointing in our trip. You may chose to give it a skip!

The day's lunch was at a roadside hotel at Bishalgarh. Food in Tripura is nothing fancy. Most places one will get the standard veg and non-veg thali (fixed meal). Food habits are akin Bengalis - so an abundance of fish, chicken, egg. At the Tourist bungalows, one has to place the lunch/dinner orders beforehand as the preparation is need based.

Kasba Kali Bari 

Around 4 pm, we reached the second last destination of this journey - Kasba. Kasba is on the Bangaladesh-India border. It is famous for the Kali Temple - Kasba Kali Bari and the Kamalasagar lake.The international border of barbed wire lines the lake. The Kasba railway station and Bangladesh EMU trains are visible and audible from India. There is a weekly Indo-Bangla market , which happens on each Sunday. Wholesalers, farmers exchange their produce. BSF personnel stand guard all over the place. Mobile phones , on auto mode, acquire the Time Zone of Bangladesh and one has to be very careful that the foreign network is not registered on.

Kamalasagar Lake

The street leading upto the Kali Bari is lined with pera shops. After offering evening puja, we spent our time talking to the locals.
The pujari performed a beautiful evening arati and we were even offered prasadam.
The Comilla Tourist Lodge here was the best state tourism accommodation which we experienced this time with spic and span rooms and prompt amenities. Though not many make a night stay here, as it is very close to Agartala, we would recommend you to spend an evening here to catch a glimpse of the local life.
Standing at the lake side, one gets a strange feeling - if one were to just swim across the lake, one would reach forbidden grounds - Bangladesh - now a foreign land, once which was our very own!
The pain of partition is still very raw and alive in the Tripuran Bengalis and several East Bengalis who have crossed over to West Bengal. Though the generation which faced the ravages of the time has now faded away, the generation who had their uncles / aunts/ grandparents across the border still seethe with frustration. A part of their childhood had been snatched away forever - never being able spend the summer holidays at their uncles' or grandparents' which probably lay across international borders!