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Prologue
Imagine an old motor boat, making its way through a small native river. The rocky mountain walls jeweled by their lush green covers are standing high on both sides protecting the gorge below; yet you are alone, moving towards the misty downstream. A lot is to be told, maybe up front; but who is there to tell the tale? Wait a minute! Don’t think this to be the Amazon and its mysterious El Dorado or we are about to unveil the mysteries of the Grand Canyon! We are in the incredible North Eastern part of India; a chiaroscuro for travelers and nomads like me. “Chabimura”, as the natives call it, will always have a special place in my heart. Situated approximately 80 kilometres off the city of Agartala, the capital of Tripura and 30 kilometres from Udaipur, the once capital and presently the biggest city of Tripura (also the district headquarter of Gomati district). This is my very first expedition of Tripura and I am way too excited for it.
We started off from Agartala motor stand (Nagerjala Bus Stand beside Battala market) at around 8:00 AM. Keep in mind that you have separate bus stands for North and South Tripura and where we are going is South. We availed the Tripura Tourism Bus Service, but you can take any conveyance (generally private buses or those operated by Tripura Road Transport Corporation (TRTC) or medium sized shuttle cars typically Wingers travelling towards Melaghar/Udaipur). However, you may feel a bit stuffy while travelling as they generally overload these. The tourism buses can be booked apriori. Ignore the nominal bureaucracy that you may face throughout the tour as what you would experience is heavenly. Just a small info, if you wish to travel by the tourism service, plan your tour on weekends from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (you may visit this site for details: http://tripuratourism.gov.in/conduct).
The Journey
The AC coaches in which we traveled were quite relaxing and so was the road (majority of the journey was via NH 8: connecting Karimganj (Assam) to Sabroom (Sabroom)). We crossed the Tripura University (Suryamaninagar), Tripura Medical and Paramedical Colleges (Hapania), Sipahijala Wildlife Sanctuary (Sipahijala) and sort of touched the Matar Bari (or Tripura Sundari) Temple (a notable temple of Goddess Kali; here worshiped as Tripureswari) before turning towards Chabimura. You can halt at Bisramganj for breakfast or Udaipur can be another option. Let me tell you, all these places has so much to tell that everything can't be penned down at once; so a visit for my readers is inevitably suggested. Regarding the season, you may travel anytime but it is always comfortable to travel during the winters as you get clear weather for the boat rides and rock climbing.
We reached Chabimura close to 11:00 AM on the banks of river Gomati. From here, we hired a boat (often a motor driven canoe) operated by the local residents. The people here generally speak Bengali and sometimes Kokborok (mostly spoken by those from tribal origin). I will give a rough estimate of the total expenditure towards the end of my writing. You may hire a guide who will tell you about the myths and legends of the place and the reasons behind the ancient sculptors. I was too excited and was looking forward towards this canoe trip to the unveiled past.
The Legends
Historians and archaeologists are still not sure of the actual birth time of these enigmatic deities. Numismatist scholar Jawahar Acharjee opined them to be dated back to 8th century while the holy local tribes say it to be late 15th century. Now, if you are an expert or a good guesser, can you predict the age of these sandstone carvings?
Our boatman (as I call him) and our guide were both local residents of the nearest settlement of Amarpur (approximately 7.5 kilometres from Chabimura). Well, the place from where we are starting off on the boat is also Amarpur. You need to go further downstream to reach Chabimura. The Gomati is a small murky intermittent river which is considered to be the main river of this little state. Once a princely state free from the British administration, Tripura had several eras of Maharaja rule. Our Chabimura envisages a few legends relating to such maharajas.
Legend 1: During the 15th - 16th century, a tribal ruler (great ruler Maharaja Chichingfa's grandfather) reigned over this part of the land (at Burtiari towards the left of this region). After his continuous loss in consecutive battles, he decided to worship 'Mahisashurmardini' (Goddess Durga) as CHAKRA-MA. He curved a huge wall carving of the goddess which happens to be the largest rock carving (approximately 10.3 m high and 28 m in diameter facing south). Later, the King Chichingfa used those caves to store his treasures with a Python to safeguard them.
Legend 2: This legend also relates to 'the Jamatias'. It was said that this place once belonged to the Jamatias who were scared away by a cobra. However, 'hada Arka', the religious society of the Jamatias discarded this theory and sighted severe drought as their reason for abandonment.
Legend 3: This legend was the most interesting one relating to King Chichingfa's daughter Princess Hirabati. It was said that the princess was once kidnapped by a white elephant. Two brothers: Rangia and Fateh rescued the princess after fighting a fierce battle with the elephant. Pleased by their valiant action, the king married the princess to Fateh. He also told them about the hidden treasures inside the caves but repeatedly told them to return by evening. It is believed that after sunset, on visiting the caves, one may incur the wrath of goddess Chakrama. According to the Hindu mythology, the holy mother Chandi's fierce form (ugra rup) is Mahisashurmardini where the Devi kills a powerful demon Mahisashura to safeguard the worldly creation.
Till now, no one has tried going inside the caves after sunset !
Way to the Holy mother's adobe
We started off downstream traversing the breadth of the river. Soon, we found ourselves amidst the rocky walls as steep as ever. What a wonderful work of nature! Both the mountains are covered in lush green. Sunlight has incurred a definite variation of golden shades creating an aura of intermingling green and yellow. If you are a botanist or an entomologist, this is a heaven for your research. I can tell you there are much more plant and insect species than you can even think of. Nourished by patches of algae and hanging ferns, this is a perfect demonstration of a rocky forest ecosystem. The sunlight however dimly reach the bottom of the gorge (say around 200 m below) where we presently are. The scenic is further textured by hanging roots (mostly Velamen roots), moist rocky features with occasional patches of algae and moss and of course, oozing water from some stream somewhere behind the mountains. The nature here further increases the enigma of this place by several folds. If you look around, you can see small caves with streams flowing out of them. No one knows from where these streams flow out or exactly where these caves lead to.
The very first sighting of rock carving was of four Hindu pantheons; I identified them as a part of the Panchadevata (the Five Gods) existing in that place. The panel was approximately 9 m x 5 m; you will find a hard time in identifying the gods due to algal growth. Nevertheless, I tried to identify them as: Shiva (Mahadev: the destroyer), Vishnu (Narayana: the preserver), Kartikeya (Skanda: the chief-of-army for heaven) and Ganesha (Lambodara: the siddhidata). All of them had their proper vahanas. You can relate all of them in the Vedic literature (if you have likings for Hindu literature though)
The next set of carvings were a group of 37 male and females along with their leader (possibly the head of clan or the maharaja) engaged in cultural events. Tripura is the seat of cultural heritage. Practically every one is trained in Indian classical music and traditional dance forms.
Finally further downstream, we got a glimpse of the majestic mother safeguarding all her children and her creation: the universe. The whole carving is made out of light yellow sandstone. The mother, here appears with ten hands holding ten weapons each signifying a natural power to win over evil. Below the mother, lies Mahishasura, a valiant yet evil warrior who also happened to be the mother's disciple. The deity signified purification of evil soul and attainment of nirvana by killing the evil visage in front. Anyway, about the tour, the boat halts here for 15-20 minutes. You can go up to the top and seek the goddess' blessings by touching her. A priest takes care of the daily rituals. You may or may not donate some money (anything you like) as per your wish. This marks the end of Tripura Tourism's authorized area. Further downstream is operated by a local group; that is a story for another day.
On our way back, the boat halted in front of a series of caves which the natives called "Swarger daar" (the gateway to heaven). No one knows what lies inside these caves. The legends about King Chichingfa and his treasures relate to these caves. Streams of unknown origin flow out of these caves. In order to reach there, you need to pass by a hanging bridge and follow a series of moist rocks and mountain walls (a bit of rock climbing you may say). I would suggest you to keep your shoes behind in the boat as they don't allow shoes here. The moist rocks are extremely slippery due to algal bloom and hence you should be extremely careful while walking to avoid accidents of any kind.
This marks the end of our expedition and I felt a bit sad while coming back. You have a couple of restaurants (as you may call them) where you will get decent Indian food. We started off from Amarpur at around 3:30 PM with a heavy heart and a deep desire to come back again.
A bit of finance...
Foods that you may have
- Generally Indian food (rice, pulses, vegetables etc)
- Seasonal fruits with Indian dressing
- Tribal food: Godak (Dry fish with vegetables and a plethora of spices stuffed in bamboo stalks roasted in open air)
Places to stay
- Chabimura Cottage
- Sagarika Parjatan Nivas
- Fatik Nagar
- Amarpur
You will find these cottages/rest rooms on rent till afternoon (9:00 AM to 5:00 PM)
If you do not wish to avail Tripura Tourism facilities, then you may need to bargain a bit to the best fares.
Costing
- Cottages: Rs. 200 (for 2 hours) or Rs. 1000 (for whole day) per cottage
- Motor boat: Rs. 100 per person (subject to a minimum of 10 visitors) or Rs. 1000 - 1500 (per boat)
- Canoe: Rs. 80 per person (subject to a minimum of 10 visitors) or Rs. 500 (per boat)
- Use of WC/Toilets: Rs. 5 (per person)
- Food: Rs. 100 - 150 (per person)
- Guide charges and conveyance charge: Rs 400 (per person)
TOTAL COST (per person): Rs. 1700 to Rs. 2000 (approx) (i.e. $ 23.83 - $28.03)
Wish you a pleasant and happy journey to the beautiful Chabimura !
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