Fifty-one priests performed the ‘Ganga Aarti’ at Tripura Sundari Temple. (Express photo) Fifty-one priests performed the ‘Ganga Aarti’ at Tripura Sundari Temple. (Express photo)

Deepavali Mela at Tripura Sundari Temple in southern Udaipur in Tripura’s Gomati district started with a rather different style on Tuesday. Fifty-one priests performed the ‘Ganga Aarti’, resembling the famous ‘Aarti’ in Ganga Ghaat at Haridwar, Kashi and Gaya, while 51 drummers joined them along with nearly a hundred women holding candles.

The ritual started at 6:30 pm, shortly after Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb inaugurated the Deepavali Mela in the temple premises, and continued for 40 minutes. Tripura Sundari Temple at Udaipur is one of the 51 Hindu shaktipeethas of India. It is considered one of the holiest Hindu shrines of the country and attracts over two lakh devotees and saints every year on Deepavali.

The temple sees the highest number of devotees in northeast India after Kamakhya temple at Guwahati. The ruling BJP-IPFT government has announced to give the temple a makeover, claiming erstwhile Left rulers did nothing for temples and shrines. CM Deb said his government would soon start a plan to turn Tripura Sundari Temple into a major tourist attraction in the country.

“People from across India and abroad come to visit the Chaar Dhaam (4 holy places) and 51 shaktipeethas. Tripura Sundari Temple is one of them. But we will build a replica of the other 50 shaktipeethas around Kalyansagar. Tourists wouldn’t have to travel to all these states. We shall offer them one-stop destination at Tripura Sundari Temple,” Deb said.

The temple sees the highest number of devotees in northeast India after Kamakhya temple at Guwahati. (Express photo) The temple sees the highest number of devotees in northeast India after Kamakhya temple at Guwahati. (Express photo)

The CM said developing the Sundari temple would develop tourism in Tripura and it would act as a springboard to turn it into a model state by next three years. Referring to Mecca, Madina, Jerusalem, he said a host of industries and businesses, like transportation, hospitality will develop centering around tourism.

The temple is located at southern Udaipur, the erstwhile capital of princely Tripura. Situated 55 km from Agartala, Tripura Sundari temple was built on the top of a hillock resembling the back of a turtle. According to Tripura Rajmala, the royal chronicle of Tripura’s Manikya kings, Maharaja Dhanya Manikya Bahadur constructed the temple in 1501 after getting a ‘Swapnadesh’ or divine order from the Supreme Mother or ‘Aadishakti’ in his dream.

As legend holds it, the king was ordered in a revelation of the Divine Mother in his dreams to bring the idol of Goddess Tripurasundari from Chittagong, which was then within the territories of the larger State of Tipperah.

The idol was accordingly brought and worshipped in the temple. Later, as legend holds it, the King ordered excavation of a pond right near the temple. A second deity was found during the excavation which came to known as ‘Chhoti Ma’. Both idols are reverently prayed till today.

The pond excavated in the process was named as Kalyansagar and serves as the temple waterbody. It is also home to the near-extinct of Bostami turtles.

Tripurasundari temple consists of a square sanctum of typical Bengali architectural form. According to the Hindu mythology, the right foot of Sati fell here during Lord Shiva’s Nataraj dance. Hence, the temple is basically ‘Shakta’ in nature and owes allegiance to the order of ‘Shakti’ in Hindu mythology. Surprisingly though, the temple’s structural designs shows ‘Vaishnavite’ traits.

Though Bostami turtle of Matabari hasn’t derived its name from Lord Vishnu, yet, the ‘pithashtaan’ of Matabari is known as Kurma-pitha, which refers to the turtle manifestation of Lord Vishnu or the ‘Kurma-avatar’. Bostami turtles is known by many names – black soft-shell turtles, Nigricans turtles, successors of the ‘Kurma-avatar’ and so on. So, the paradox plays on and between ‘Shakta’ or ‘Vaishnavite’ orders.

Mriganka Kar, a Class 12 student at Vivekananda Vidyapith, feels Ganga Aarti has added a new dimension to Deepavali festival at Tripura Sundari Temple. “I am 18 years old. This year the organisers had 51 dhaak beaten during Ganga Aarti and all devotees were given a small envelope with flowers from the temple. I feel this initiative will help attract more tourists and earn more revenue for the state. It’s a good step”, he said.

However, Mriganka said that roads should be developed in Tripura for a better tourism system to develop. “There are many great tourist spots in Tripura. But tourists don’t get to visit them due to bad road conditions. Roads should be developed to grant them access to different tourists spots,” Mriganka said.

The novel initiative of Ganga Aarti was equally appreciated by the elders. Jadugopal Debnath, 72, lives at Nalchar in Gomati district and has been visiting Diwali Mela at Tripura Sundari Temple since 1965. “I have seen Ganga Aarti this year. I haven’t seen anything as beautiful like this in all these years. People are very happy,” Debnath said. The septuagenarian feels the government should allow more free trains to help tourists from distant places in reaching Udaipur.

The North East Frontier (NFR) Railway is running seven “mela special” trains to aid devotees in attending the Deepavali Mela at Udaipur. Agartala Railway station master Amit Kumar informed that six special trains from Agartala were running to Udaipur while one train from Dharmanagar in north Tripura, adjacent to the Tripura-Assam border, was also being operated.

Deepavali Mela at Udaipur has seen an ensemble of people from all religions and sects. Arshad Miah from Chandrapur area in Udaipur has been visiting the mela for 40 years. “Since the change of government, very good work is being done. The Deepavali Mela is truly a place for gathering of people from all religions and class. I am feeling very happy at the way things are managed,” Arshad said.

Asked about his take on the current regime, Arshad said the BJP-IPFT government was not against the minority community. “There is very good work in the state. The minority communities are not left far behind. Development activities of the government should be showcased centering the fair,” he said.

Meanwhile, tight security was in place around Udaipur city to avert any untoward incident during the Deepavali festival. Assistant Inspector General of Police Smriti Ranjan Das said that adequate police and para-military deployment was done around Tripura Sundari Temple. “We have deployed state police, state and central para-military forces in and around Tripura Sundari Temple. We are also using a battery of CCTVs apart from traditional surveillance systems to avert mishaps,” the police official said.

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