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Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya Bahadur of the
Manikya Dynasty The Manikya dynasty was the ruling house of the Twipra Kingdom and later the princely Tripura State, what is now the Indian state of Tripura. Ruling since the early 15th century, the dynasty at its height controlled a large swathe of the north- ...
was the king of
Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
from 1862 to 1896.


Biography

Bir Chandra Manikya is regarded as the architect of modern
Agartala Agartala () is the capital city of the Indian state of Tripura, and is one of the largest cities in northeast India. The city is governed by the Agartala Municipal Corporation. The city is the seat of the Government of Tripura. It is located on ...
city. In 1862, he started the urbanisation of the Agartala. In 1871 he established the Agartala Municipality. He established
Umakanta Academy Umakanta Academy (Bengali: উমাকান্ত একাডেমি) is an educational institute located in Agartala, India. Established in 1862, it is the oldest school in Tripura. It is affiliated to TBSE. History The Agartala HE school ...
, the first western school in Tripura, in 1890. An enthusiastic photographer, he was the first king in India to organize an annual photographic exhibition in his palace. More than 100 years after his death, the Maharaja's Foto ka Karkhana, a fully equipped studio, came to light in Madho Niwas, inside the palace.


Legacy

The
Tagore family The Tagore family (also spelled as ''Thakur''), with over three hundred years of history,Deb, Chitra, pp 64–65. has been one of the leading families of Calcutta, India, and is regarded as one of the key influencers during the Bengali Renaiss ...
had links with the princes of Tripura since the time
Dwarkanath Tagore Dwarkanath Tagore ( bn, দ্বারকানাথ ঠাকুর, ''Darokanath Ţhakur''; 1794–1846) was one of the first Indian industrialists to form an enterprise with British partners. He was the son of Ramlochon Tagore, the founder ...
but the relationship between the two families was closest during the time of Bir Chandra's reign.
Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
had a friendly relationship with the king. Three important works of Rabindranath Tagore — ''Mukuta'' (1885), ''Rajarshi'' (), and ''Visarjana'' (1890) were directly influenced by his association with the royal family of Tripura. Bir Chandra Manikya was also one of the main characters of the novel ''Prathom Alo'' () by
Sunil Gangopadhyay Sunil Gangopadhyay or Sunil Ganguly (7 September 1934 – 23 October 2012) was an Indian poet, historian and novelist in the Bengali language based in the city of Kolkata. He is a former Sheriff of Calcutta. Gangopadhyay obtained his ma ...
.


See also

*
Manikya dynasty The Manikya dynasty was the ruling house of the Twipra Kingdom and later the princely Tripura State, what is now the Indian state of Tripura. Ruling since the early 15th century, the dynasty at its height controlled a large swathe of the north- ...
*
Tripura (princely state) Tripura State, also known as Hill Tipperah, was a princely state in India during the period of the British Raj and for some two years after the departure of the British. Its rulers belonged to the Manikya dynasty and until August ...


References


External links


Kingdom of Tripura - University of Queensland
{{Authority control Kings of Tripura History of Tripura People from Agartala