North-east Nostalgia...Part-III......Tripura

knbg · May 22, 2012

After my
North-east Nostalgia...Part-I......Nagaland and

North-east Nostalgia...Part-II......Meghalaya

I am here with North-east Nostalgia...Part-III......Tripura.

After an year at Shillong, we had to move to another place in another state of North east and it was.......

Agartala, the capital of Tripura.

With all the excitement...... we boarded our flight to Agartala.....

We reached Agartala......headed to our accomodation......at the Residential complex of my DH's bank.

The short drive from the Agartala airport to the residential complex was a good one....with beautiful old buildings and temples....trees.....and old murtis of a myriad of Gods and Goddesses all along.......
I understood that a beautiful stay and lots of nice and new experiences were in store for us....

We reached the residential complex around 7 PM and it was dark but for the moon light......
Lots of trees and tall buildings....
Kids playing foot ball.......
Ladies laughing and chit-chatting.....
I was reminded of "Boys and girls come out to play.....The moon is shining as bright as day...."
It was the regular '2 hour power-cut' time.....

We reached our assigned apartment.....and had a forced 'candle-light' dinner ( with my over protective DH worrying about my toddler DS touching the flame..:bonk..) and dozed off......

I woke up to the 'ulu dhani' ( a sound made by bengali women during pujas....simalar to 'kulavai' in tamil ), resonating conch and ghanta sounds the next morning.

Agartala has a substantial bengali population along with the native people of Tripura( The Deb Burmans.....the famous R.D.Burman and S.D.Burman have their roots here and are celebrated with awe here..)

So, my neighbors....some of them are my best friends now.....were bengalis.....

I came to know and understand the interesting culture of bengalis......

Red and white saree was worn by the ladies on auspicious occasions......
Dhuna( incense)....Ulu dhani.....Conch and bells....were a part of daily prayers.....
'Shaka-Pala".....The Conch and Red lacquer bangles....and Sindoor...were worn by married ladies.....

Fish, Paneer, Dhal and rice are the staples......
An array of bhajis....with yellow pumpkins....brinjals.....onion-flower....palak....fried in mustard-oil is a part of their food......
Kichudis and Mix veg is an important prasad during pujos......
Rossogollas......Lal mons( Gulab jamoons).....Shingaadaas( samosas)....are a must with tea......
I learned some good bengali recipes from my friends.......
Dal with 'panch -phoran' tadka.....
Sarson da Sajna ( drumsticks cooked in mustard paste)
Stuffed 'karkol'
Paayesh....garnished with 'Tej patta' ( Bay -leaf)
Bangali Pitas.....

I tasted 'paan'.....betal leaves with supari, chunna, heeramathi, elachi ,narkal.......

I had the chance to serve Idilis, Dosas and vadas to them....which they enjoyed a lot.....( One inquisitive friend asked me...." Arey....aaplog...yeh vada ka hole kab banaathey hein.....before frying or after frying.....?")

I was popular as my DS's ma.......It was sweet to hear that....for a new mom right.......

A lot of kids would be at home in the evenings.....to learn and get some help for their projects....and eagerly inquire about Chennai....IIT and SRM colleges....food and climate......culture.....( "Are sleeveless tops allowed in the colleges there aunty?"....." You will get good fish there na.....from the sea...?"...etc., etc.,)

There were many mango and litchee trees there......
Evenings were fun.....munching the fruits and chatting together.....( something juicy isn't it....)

I learnt 'Rabindra Sangeeet"....and my Bengali friends would say...."Your Bangla pronunciation is impeccable!!!"

Almost all months had a Pujo....( puja).....
Naba barsh....( The Bengali New year...)
Manasa Pujo....( For the 'Snake goddess')
Bipath Naashini Pujo...( To protect from accidents)
Bishvakarma Pujo ( For Vishwakarma)
Durga Pujo
Lakhi Pujo( Lakshmi Puja)
Kali Pujo

Sarasbathi Pujo.....

And all pujos were celebrated with interest , involvement and as a community event there....

Durga Puja....in Agartala is the second best in the country......
Pandal making would begin from months ago and innovative pandals crop up every where.......with un usual themes......like

Tsunami.......
Titanic.....
Train........
Geethobadesha.......
Tibetian......
Using scrap fabric........
Using bangles....
Using just a single color or material......
Big murtis.....etc etc., and Each Puja pandal would sell CDs of the making of the pandal.......
There would be this "Dhunachi" where the earthen pot of incense would be taken as a prop and people would dance in front of the goddesses.....with the beat of "Dhak" the large drum providing the rhythm....

After the 'Pandal hopping' and sumptuous prasads..... the day of Bidai to Durga ma would come......
The big murtis of Ma would be taken as a procession for 'Visarjan' to drown in water bodies.....
It would always make one emotional......with tears and 'sindhoor khela'....smearing of sindoor in each other's face...Ma would be given a farewell.......

Then , Lakhi puja would follow......then Kali Puja........Saraswathi Puja......each celebrated with enthusiasm and grandeur......
I felt blessed to be a part of the pujas.......

I was also blessed and lucky to visit Udaipur temple of Maa Tripureswari.....
Situated at Udaipur....which is less than 45 min drive from Agartala, this old, Shakti peetam of Maa Tripureswari...a powerful goddess and a varaprasadhi....has divine vibrations.........I never missed a chance to go there and chant sahasranama.....and Maa Tripureswari holds a special place in my heart.........

The temple complex holds a large lake...with large turtles..... believed to be some noble souls.....and.....It is said that.....a turtle climbs the stairs of the hillock temple and leaves it's soul at the feet of Maa .....

We also visited Neer Mahal a palace in the midst of a lake......
Agartala palace....which houses the Agartala Assembly now.....
Jagannath Bari......A Temple of Puri Jagannath.....
Sipahi Jala ...A wild-life sanctuary....

Our stay in Agartala was just for an year......
But we have made good , enduring friends there...
We also filled a large chest of sweet memories of the place....the people......who gave us a tearful fare well when we left them to our next destination.......which I shall write about in my next part.......

Till then....It's Bhargavi.....signing off from Agartala.......

Pics courtesy:Google

Saisakthi · May 22, 2012

Dear Bhargavi Sister,

Long awaited Part 3 is just here, Thanks for taking us to Tripura free of cost, good pictures depicting each occasion and glad to learn about Bengalis, Bengalis are almost like South Indians I guess..

Yeah you have enjoyed good Rasgollas... Mouth watering...

So after Chennai, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Agartala now enjoying in US... Great !!!

:thankyou2:

suryakala · May 22, 2012

Dear Bhargavi,

Part-1-Nagaland,Part2-Meghalaya,
Now Part-3- Agartala, the capital of Tripura.
Very well written.
I Felt I was visiting myself in the company of my friend dear Bhargavi!Really I enjoyed!
Almost all months they have Pujas like South Indians-Naba barsh....( The Bengali New year...)
Manasa Pujo....( For the 'Snake goddess')
Bipath Naashini Pujo...( To protect from accidents)
Bishvakarma Pujo ( For Vishwakarma),This puja is like our Audha puja (Saraswathi puja)
Durga Pujo
Lakhi Pujo( Lakshmi Puja)
Kali Pujo,I like their way of living.
I like this Picture.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Will wait for the next part(4).

periamma · May 22, 2012

Bhargavi thanks for taking us to Tripura.Bengalis and Tamil people have some similar qualities.Women in villages wear the saree similar to Mamta Banerjee style.They tie the key punch in the pallu.very good write up

(BhargaviWhat a coincidence i am giving fb to your post and you to my post.I finished fb to Tripura and comes out and your name in my post.I think we both have some inner instinct )

mimur9 · May 22, 2012

Dear Bhargavi,

YOu have given a nice intro into bengali culture and traditions.

The foodie list made me drool

//( One inquisitive friend asked me...." Arey....aaplog...yeh vada ka hole kab banaathey hein.....before frying or after frying.....?")// :rotfl:rotfl

Nice to now that you sing tagore songs. My ex neighbour - bengali used to sing these songs as a lullaby to her little daughter. I love the songs as they are melodious though I don't know bengali. our KS too sings well. I happened to hear a tagore song sung by her...wow! what a melody voice and lovely song.

eagerly waiting to read part-IV....

Riyakathir · May 22, 2012

Bhargavi chellam

Bayangarama oor suthuraa pola..

Nice to read all your experiences. I saw a peppiness of a child who is getting thrilled when she see a new place. i am also munching mangoes and litchi... hmmm.. you you will take me to your oor suthifying huh?:rant

Mindian · May 22, 2012

dear Bhargs,

I have said it before and will say it again .what I find most endearing about your travelogue posts is your enthu and positive determination to enjoy the culture and friendliness of people around you.

With that attitude you are bound to enjoy every place you visit and oh yeah, we in turn will get to hear about many such places from you.. this is gonna be one long enjoyable series

I loved knowing more about Bengalis as mine was limited to visiting Calcutta, Puri and Darjeeling. I love their sarees and want to add a kantha one and the traditional red and white to my collection.that with their bangles and sindhoor look so lovely and elegant, no?

and their chaats and sweets?..hmmm yummmmyyy (lunch time now , no wonder that yummy became so long LOL)

SM11870 · May 22, 2012

Dear bhargavi,

I was waiting eagerly for your next northeast nostalgia and you have excelled my expectations.I too have a friend from tripura and lots of bengali frnds,you have given a very short but clear picture about their culture,food,beliefs,festivals :in fact a clear picture about their life.Enjoyed reading and my mouth too watered after reading about their food.
Hope your next part comes out soon.

knbg · May 22, 2012

Dear sister Saisakthi,
Thank you for the first FB....
I have one more place to write about before coming to U.S.....shall write about that soon.
Glad that you enjoyed the post dear.:thankyou2:

Megalife · May 22, 2012

Dear Bhargavi
A usual bhargs post which is synonymous with rich culture and endearing tradition !
But I did one big mistake, I read of the distinctive culinary traditions, rosaagullas, paneer,....and the yummy mustard soaked delicacies ......all on an empty stomach, ...then ran to the kitchen and stuffed myself....so for those extra calories today....I hold you accountable Bargavi.
Thumbs up...gal!
Mega