[ampere]

Terrific plot to the place ! Need more and more!
All green and fishy !

How often one has taken the road less traveled?
NE is true to Frost.

Woods are lovely dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep.

[jacs]

Wow! keep going. Its a very different culture altogether.

[tortoiseNhare]

After Kumarghat the real fun begins as far as driving is concerned. It is about 100 kilometers of circuitous hill stretch upto Champaknagar. The road was having very thin traffic and was in excellent condition. We didn't have any idea what the security situation might have been; being from Assam and having done a Kashmir trip before I didn't really care actually.

The speedo-odo had stopped working on the previous evening itself and the parking/brake-fluid indicator was also lighting up erratically ever since. Since there was no difference in the driving experience I had gradually overcome the worries. The next important place on NH44 from Kumarghat is Manu. By the time we were at the peak of that ghat section I noticed something on the instrument panel of my car that scared the hell out of me. The indicator that is supposed to light up when something wrong happens to the fuel pump was on. There was nothing we could do till we reached Agartala. I heard people say that when such indication is shown once the engine is shut off it might refuse to start again. BIL was not very worried. He thought that it was related to the failure of the speedo etc. and might be due to some loose connection leading to the console. I hoped he was correct and decided to drive nonstop till Agartala. The scenic beauty of the road was given a miss by the camera as my wife was worried too regarding the well-being of the car and was in no mood for photography. Some pictures of the road would be taken during the return trip.

After Manu the next town was Ambasa and in between there was another long and beautiful ghat section. In this section we could notice armed security personnel stationed on the heights on either side of the road. So, there were some security concern indeed! I shuddered to think what would happen if my car had to develop a major snag over there. Manu to Ambasa section was passed without any hiccups. We thought that climbing should be over soon. It was not to be. The next section, Ambasa to Teliamura, was even longer and higher. The road was excellent (considering the hilly terrain) and the greenery superb throughout but we were getting sick of circuitous hilly roads now. After Teliamura more hills greeted us. This stretch was shorter and after we had reached Champaknagar we were in the Plains of West Tripura. The Palio didn't give any problem to us at all except those misleading indicators lighting up mysteriously and we reached Agartala safe and sound just before 2.30 pm.

[MX6]

clap clap clap. That would have been one nervous stretch with lights lighting up in random. So what was the issue finally? Did you get the panel repaired?

[ampere]

Only state not covered with a TL is Meghalaya. One more state there we have all the NE!

Any takers?

[MX6]

Originally Posted by ampere

Only state not covered with a TL is Meghalaya. One more state there we have all the NE!

Any takers?

There's a great biker called Mitchontheroad. I guess he's covered Meghalaya. Trouble with his travelogue is that he's in to riding and hence no photos. If I'm not wrong, he's riding out somewhere near orissa or Andhra now.

What say Mitch?

[sami316]

Hello Sir,

Awesome travelogue. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. As already others have mentioned before me that the North East is one of the most enchanting places to be visited in India as it has certain mysticism about it as it is not as explored as the other regions of India. Thanks again for the amazing pics. Keep'em coming.

[tortoiseNhare]

Originally Posted by MX6

clap clap clap. That would have been one nervous stretch with lights lighting up in random. So what was the issue finally? Did you get the panel repaired?

Thanks. The issue was a partly disconnected coupling. The mechanic at the ASC, back in Guwahati, connected the coupling properly and voila, all the issues disappeared.


Continuing with the story ...

We were supposed to stay at the Tripura University Guest House and the place is about 10 km to the south along NH44. After light breakfast at Kailashahar we had not eaten anything and were very hungry. The first job was to find a place for lunch. After some asking around we were directed towards the old bus stand. We found a place (of a very lower middle class ambience) serving vegetarian rice meal and didn't try looking anywhere else.

We then thought of making the most of the time left in the day for sightseeing. We headed to the Ujjayanta Palace : the abode of the King of Tripura which now houses the Tripura Assembly. The place near the palace was gearing up for some mela and the palace was not open to public that day. We peeped inside and saw that the palace was being renovated.











Very near the Ujjayanta Palace there is a science museum for kids, called Sukanta Academy. There are some interesting displays and shows for kids. The Academy was not having any show on that day either.













In front of the Sukanta Academy some new year revelry was being arranged.





Next, we were off to the Akhaura Border Post. There is a bus service between Agartala and Dhaka; the two cities are only 100 km apart. The road link is through the Akhaura post.





The border fencing erected by Indian Govt. is well inside Indian territory at this place.



At 5.00 pm there is the customary flag down ceremony every day. So, here was an opportunity to view something I had narrowly missed at Wagah on my return trip from Kashmir via Amritsar last September.























The ceremony was not as glittering as what I had seen on TV in case of Wagah border but nevertheless it was a good thing.







It was time to go find our place of rest for the night. When we were about 2 km from the University we saw a sea of crowd attending a Baishakhi mela. It took about an hour to wade through the crowd. We reached the University Guest House at about 7.30 pm.

[MX6]

What's so great about teachers from 'Delhi' and 'Kota'?
And the affair at the border does look low key compared to the charged wagah occurances! Your photos are getting better and better. But still the lone rafter on the catamaran is my fav in this thread till now.

[tortoiseNhare]

Originally Posted by MX6

What's so great about teachers from 'Delhi' and 'Kota'?

They supposedly wield the magic wand that pushes and shoves the learners into IITs and NITs.

[tortoiseNhare]

Another surprise awaited us there. The Guest House caretaker did not receive any communication about my request for rooms somehow. Unless there was authorization from the Guest House In-charge (a Professor of the University) he could not open the rooms for us. Thankfully, I had carried a duplicate copy of the official communication to them from my employer and two double rooms were given to us on the basis of that when the In-charge arrived after a few minutes.

We took early dinner and had a good night's sleep. I woke up early and went out to explore the University campus. Tripura University is a central university founded in 1987. The campus is beautiful. The area within didn't seem to be vast but is neatly maintained.

This is the Guest House. The In-charge had to say that a new larger one was also being built having a capacity of 100.



Some pictures of the TU campus.

















The University Auditorium.



There is this State Govt. maintained Energy Education Park within the University campus.









Solar powered bicycles and toy cars (rusting in peace ...)







The main gate of the University



NH44 is the Eastern boundary and extends up to Sabroom.





Back inside the campus I spotted this permanent concrete notice board where the notice of a strike by the University Employees Union, dated a month earlier, was still being displayed.



Plenty of jackfruit trees were seen. Saw them throughout Tripura in large numbers.



Another view of the beautiful RCC bridge inside the campus.



The wild beauties ...





My beast, who has been giving me some scare of late but never letting me down.



Time to perform the morning rituals, get ready, have breakfast and get moving for some sightseeing.

[aniketi]

Good photos. Good to see similar things in all parts of India. Some things you can see in common everywhere. Like buildings, roads, hotels, etc.

[MX6]

Aren't the Maharaja Bir Bikram Shahs (dipendra/ gyanendra/ Birendra etc.) the surnames of Nepal kinds? So they are related to Tripura in some way is it?

[tortoiseNhare]

Originally Posted by MX6

Aren't the Maharaja Bir Bikram Shahs (dipendra/ gyanendra/ Birendra etc.) the surnames of Nepal kinds? So they are related to Tripura in some way is it?

Don't know much about it. This article might help: THE LAST RULER

The Manikya Dynasty of Tripura claimed their descent from the lunar race of Mahabharata. According to Rajmala, the Royal chronicle of Tripura-Maharajas, Yajati was the first Ruler of the Dynasty followed by ‘Druha’ and ‘Tripur’. According to ‘Genealogy’ maintained as ‘State Papers’ by the Royal family Maharaja Kirit Bikram was the 179th descendent of Manikya Dynasty. Now Maharaja Pradyut Kishore becomes the 180th ruler.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by MX6

Aren't the Maharaja Bir Bikram Shahs (dipendra/ gyanendra/ Birendra etc.) the surnames of Nepal kinds? So they are related to Tripura in some way is it?

Tripura Royalty was Burman lineage. Music in the blood.

TNH (Tortoise N Hare),

You had the best possible view in town. Seeing through the eyes of the student. I love the campuses.
You get to see the best perspectives!
Did you have any experience or the campus was just a hole for you to perch ?