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BOOK REVIEW |
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When I joined the service in 2005, the eagerness to know about the state of Tripura took me to the District Gazetteer and other similar publications. But I was left unsatisfied as the information was scattered and not well compiled. Few days back one of the journalist friends handed me a copy of book 'Tripura
- Beckons Beyond Boundaries.' I thought it is just another book and kept it lying for a week on my office table. A three day holiday last week forced me to start browsing through it but its intensity made me read on and on and on, till the very end.The book is published by Tripurainfo, a cyber knowledge destination and a leading online news publisher in the country. It is an endeavour to showcase glimpses of this tiny State in spheres of history and heritage, art and culture, tourism, business and other finer aspects. Written with a special focus on tourism, it makes a sincere effort to take Tripura from obscurity to national spotlight. The book unveils the treasures of State like 8th Century Pilak (a symbol of ancient civilization), 12th century rock carvings at Debtamura on banks of Gomati, 2nd largest rock sculptures of India at Unakoti, the only lake palace in eastern India at Neermahal, the twin Ujjayanta and Vaijayanta palaces reminding the glories of princely past, and sanctuaries at Rowa, Sephaijala and Trishna to name a few. The author has dedicated major portion of the book to describe the various aspects of tourism- ancient, religious, wildlife, water parks and leisure parks, handicrafts and tribal culture. There is an objective analysis of State's history to separate it from mythology and legends. It illustrates the reigns of series of Manikya rulers from Ratna Manikya, who encouraged the Bengali settlements, Uday Manikya after whom Udaipur is named, Krishna Manikya who established capital at Agartala, Dhanya Manikya who had expanded the territorial limits up to Comilla, Sylhet, Noakhali and Chittagang and also built Tripureshwari temple, Bir Chandra Manikya for ushering Tripura in modern age, benevolent Radhakishore Manikya who helped establish educational and health institutes, Bir Chandra Manikya who made efforts for tea cultivation and oil and gas exploration a century ago and Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya for planning to develop Agartala on modern footings. The book narrates the relationship of Tripura with the Nobel-laureate poet Rabindra Nath Tagore and his novel 'Rajarshi' based on Tripura's history and dramas like 'Mukut' based on the squabbling princes-sons of King Amar Manikya. The book is rich in contents on tribal culture and arts including the dance forms like Garia resembling the movement and physical gaits of animals, Mashak Sumani which is performed during return from deer hunting, Lebang Bumani which depicts driving away of insects from 'jhum' fields, exquisite physical balance in Hozagiri dance and many more. The non-tribal communities, which are now a majority in the State, carry out the rituals and celebrate festivals as per the Bengali Calendar and finds elaborate mention in the book like reciting of 'Manas Mangal' in 'Shravan' to please the Goddess of Snakes, 'Makar Samkranti' in 'Poush', Charak Puja to propitiating Lord Shiva towards the end of 'Chaitra' and so on. The book acknowledges the influence of West Bengal on local cultural events during various festivals and rituals. The related aspects of tourism like local food habits and popular tastes, package and conducted tours, accommodation facilities etc are not only well presented but also finely narrated up to last detail available. The pictography used is amazing and is best suited for the book on this subject. It is not a mere compilation of data or a dissemination of information but enters into the realms of knowledge and touches the shores of wisdom of ancient past. Edited by the senior journalists, it has a potential to cater to spectrum of people from students to scholars, artists to administrators, tourists to travellers and from entrepreneurs to entertainers. Apart from being a guide to students and tourists, it would help the administrators and entrepreneurs coming from outside the State to know the pulse of people of Tripura. It is a true successor to the previous publication of Tripurainfo 'Quiz G.K. and Tripura Current Affairs.' This is a pioneering work and would help expand the reach of our State to the nation and the world. No book can be called perfect, yet it is quite effective to make a difference, as I would recommend it for students, citizens, entrepreneurs, visitors arriving here and of course to the administrators in Tripura. |
Published on 18 Feb, 2010 Readers can send their comments on this Book Review to : feature@tripurainfo.in