MONUMENTS OF

Northeast India
A presentation by Prekshika Todi & Tanishaa Jallan
Chosen Monuments
of Northeast India Arunachal Pradesh

Kangla Fort (1632)

Assam Manipur

Tawang Monastery (1680-81)

Manipur Arunachal Pradesh
Meghalaya

Rang Ghar (1746)

Tripura Assam

Ujjayanta Palace (1862)

Tripura

Krem Puri Cave (2016)

Meghalaya
Kangla Fort (Manipur)
~Meitei architecture

WHEN? WHO? WHERE?

Kangla is the most important historical and archeological
site of Manipur. The kingdom of Manipur was established and
developed at Kangla. The major landmarks in the growth of
Kangla Fort were constructed by King Khagemba (1597–1652 AD),
the conqueror of the Chinese. The royal chronicle records that in
632 AD, Khagemba constructed a brick wall at the western gate
of Kangla Fort. Khagemba’s son Khunjaoba (1632–1666 AD) improved
on the fortification and beautification work of Kangla Fort. The Fort
was further improved and enlarged by King Garibaniwaz and after
him by successive kings of Manipur. Located at the western bank of
the Imphal River, the Kangla Fort is a symbol of the state’s glory.

FUNCTION? EVENTS OF THE TIME? HUMANITIES?

The Kingdom of Manipur developed at Kangla. Being a political and religious
centre, Kangla grew into a formidable fortress city over the centuries. In the Anglo-Manipur War,
1632
the British forces defeated the Manipuri forces and hoisted the Union Flag in
Kangla on 27 April 1892. It was occupied by the British, declaring it as the cantonment
area or the ‘British Reserve’ till they left Manipur in 1947. On 20 November 2004, the fort was
handed by Assam Rifles to the state Governmnet of Manipur in presence of the then Prime
Minister of India, Manmohan Singh. It has since then been under constant renovation to bring
back its lost heritage. At present the fort is a major tourist attraction in the state and is immensely
admired by art-lovers and history-buffs, as the Kangla Fort holds immense historical, religious and
archaeological importance.

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE? DESIGN FEATURES?

- Twenty feet high, the Citadel is built of well-burnt bricks. The citadel
enclosure had three entrances, two on the western side and one on the southern side. Bricks and Concrete
- The “Uttra” is the ancestral coronation hall of the Manipur kings. The Uttra was
destroyed in the air raids during World War II.-Two huge ‘Kangla Sha’ made of brick
used to stand in front of the Uttra but just beyond the flight of steps and on
either side of the Uttra. Mr. T.C. Hudson wrote in his book/The Meitheis’, this was the
National Emblem of the Meiteis.

- The temple of Shree - Shree Govindajee was originally built in 1846, that is, during
the reign of Maharaja Nara Singh (1844–50). Maharaj Chandrakriti (1859–86), the
then ruler of Manipur, reconstructed the temple in its original form. The temple is dedicated
to Lord Govinda and His consort Radha.
Tawang Monastery (Arunachal Pradesh)
~ Buddhist Architecture

WHEN? WHO? WHERE?

Tawang is a quaint town located on the corner of Arunachal Pradesh with Bhutan on
its East, is a beautiful place that was historically part of Tibet and inhabited by Monpa
people. It is perched on top of a mountain at a fearsome altitude of 10,000 ft, which
gives a brilliant panoramic view of the entire Tawang River Valley, that is spread with lofty
snow-capped mountains and lush green thickets of coniferous trees. Though the exact Marble and Stone
date of its construction is not known, it is estimated that the Tawang monastery was built
between 1680 and 1681 by Merek Lama Lodre Gyatso, obeying the commands of the 5th Dalai Lama.

FUNCTION? EVENTS OF THE TIME? HUMANITIES?

The monastery had to be built as a fort, as a defensive structure. This was because the
Gulegpas (or yellow hats) faced several attacks from the Red Hat sect in Bhutan and there
were even attempts to assassinate the Mera Lama. Sometime in the 1640s,
Mera Lama decided to shift his base outside of Bhutan. Thus, when his horse landed
in Tibet, he established the headquaters of Tawang as a fort. Up until the 1914,
the monastery was controlled by Tibet, and after signing an agreement, it came under the
control of British Raj. Today the Tawang monastery is a complex of more than
65 buildings built over centuries. It holds a priceless collection of old scriptures,
rare paintings, manuscripts, and a towering 18 ft high glided image of Buddha.

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE? DESIGN FEATURES?

1680-81
-The monastery welcomes devotees with a vibrant gateway called Kakaling that is
shaped in form of a hut and elaborately decorated with mandalas on its roof.- The
monastery is a three storeyed building that is surrounded by wall of 925 ft.

- It consists of a huge assembly hall, 65 residentials for monks and Lamas, a school
and a Buddhist cultural studies centre on the whole, and can accommodate 450 monks at once.

-Walls of the monastery is beautifully decorated with colourful thangkas and

curtains that have Buddhist symbols painted over them.

- Dukhang or the assembly hall, which is the main part of the monastery, consists of an enormous
image of Lord Buddha that is of 18 ft height, and is believed to be donated by the 5th Dalai Lama.

- Apart from these, the monastery also includes a library that has a printing press, where wooden
blocks are used for printing religious texts. Hundreds of scriptures can be found in this elaborate library.
Personificat ion
A story of Yellow Hats & a Horse
It is not out of pride but out of sheer knowledge that I choose to introduce myself as the largest Buddhist monastery of India to you.
You must have heard of me, well, if you were a Buddhist or a knowledgeable person anyway. But it is just my name that
you must’ve heard, not how I was born. Let me tell you about the bitter battle between the two sects of Buddhism that I owe my foundations,
libraries, scriptures, walls and hats to. I will always worship the two sects as my parents. Gulegpa, my mother and Drukpa, my father.
You will get to know them quite well in the story that I am about to narrate to you.

The ancestors of my parents, the Tibetian Buddhists split into different sects based on different interpretations of Buddha’s teachings.
They were known from the color of their hats which they wore on formal occassions. These included the Gulpega
(the Yellow Hats), Kagyupa (the Black Hats) and the Nyingma, Sakya and Drukpa (the Red Hats).The Dalai Lama belongs to the Yellow Hats
who held power in Tibet, the Black Hats were prominent in Sikkim while the Drukpa sub-sect wearing Red Hats, were prominent in Ladakh and Bhutan.

All was peaceful, till the 17th centuary CE. The Yellow Hats and The Red Hats co-existed in th eastern Himalayas until 1616 CE, when
a Tibetian Lama from the Red Hat Drukpa sect gained established power in Bhutan. During this time my mother,
Lodoi Gyatso, better known as Mera Lama (named after the village Mera where her monastery was in Bhutan). Mother faced a lot of attacks
from father and his sect due to their newly acquired power. It was getting difficult for ma’s family to live anywhere in
Bhutan with the tensions firing up.

Sometime in the 1940s, Mera Lama decided to shift the base of the family out of Bhutan. In a bid to seek divine guidance, she decided
to meditate in a remote cave, in the adjoining hills. When she came out, she realised that her horse was missing. After a long search, the horse
was found grazing up the hill overlooking a beautiful valley. Thinking it was a divine message, Ma gave birth to me at that very hill. I was thus
named Tawang which translates to ‘Chosen by the horse’ (Ta- Horse, Wang- Chosen).
Rang Ghar (Assam)
~Ahom Architecture

WHEN? WHO? WHERE?

Often referred to as the ‘Colosseum of the East’, Rang Ghar
is one of the oldest surviving amphitheatres in Asia. The building
was first constructed during the reign of Swargadeo Rudra
Singha with bamboo and wood. It was later rebuilt with brick
by Swargadeo Pramatta Singha in AD 1744-1750. It is 3 km
away from the center of Sivasagar Town. Situated by the side

1746
of the Assam Trunk Road, it lies to the northeast of the Rangpur
Palace, a seven-storied royal complex comprising the Talatal
Ghar and the Kareng Ghar.

FUNCTION? EVENTS OF THE TIME? HUMANITIES?

Originally the building was built to be used by Ahom kings and nobles for
witnessing sports events like buffalo fights and other sports held at
the adjoining Rupahi Pathar. It served as a royal sports pavilion, particularly
during the Rangauli Bihu festival. Today it is in a fragile condition as the frequent
earthquakes have caused at least 35 cracks to be noticed at various places on
the walls of the historic Rang Ghar. But due to its splendour and beauty, it is still worth a visit.

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE? DESIGN FEATURES?

-With a height of 10 meters, Rang Ghar is a brilliant specimen
of Ahom style of architecture-The roof of the Rang Ghar is shaped l
ike an inverted royal Ahom long boat.

-The base of the monument has a series of arched entrances, while Bricks and indigenous type of cement
atop the roof sits a decorative pair of carved stone crocodiles.

-Unaware of the uses of actual cement, the Ahoms used thin baked
bricks and an indigenous form of cement made of rice paste and eggs,
the rice called as Maati Maah Assamese and a fish named as Borali Mach.
Ujjayanta palace (tripura)
~Neoclassical architecture

WHEN? WHO? WHERE?

The gleaming white Ujjayanta Palace evokes the age of Tripura Maharajas.
Ujjayanta Palace was built in 1862, 10 km (6 mi) away from Agartala, by King
Ishan Chandra Manikya (1849–1862). It was devastated by the Assam
earthquake of 12 June 1897. The palace was rebuilt in the heart of Agartala
city by Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya in 1899–1901, at a cost of 10 lakh
(1 million) rupees. The palace stands on the banks of two lakes surrounded
by gardens inspired by the Mughal style.

FUNCTION? EVENTS OF THE TIME? HUMANITIES? Tile, Wood, Concrete

The building served as the place of residing and former palace of the Kindom of Tripura.

1862
It was the home of the ruling Manikya dynasty until Tripura’s merger into India in October
1949. Upon the merger of the Kingdom of Tripura with India in 1949, royal properties
were nationalised. The main building along with the area around the palace was purchased
from the royal family by the Tripura government in 1972–73. It housed the Tripura Legislative
Assembly until July 2011. Ujjayanta Palace is now a State Museum and it primarily showcases
the lifestyle, arts, culture, tradition and utility crafts of communities residing in northeast India,
along with a lot of stone sculptures, coinage of the Manikya dynasty and some other artefacts.

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE? DESIGN FEATURES?

-The Ujjayanta Palace compound covers an area of approximately
1km2 (250 acres) and includes public rooms such as the throne room,
durbar hall, library and reception hall.-The neoclassical palace was
designed by Sir Alexander Martin of the Martin and Burn Company.

-It is a two storied mansion, having a mixed type of architecture

with three high domes, the central one being 86’ high.

-The magnificent tile floor, curved wooden ceiling and beautifully

crafted doors are particularly notable.

-Flood lighting and fountains have also added to its beauty

Krem Puri Cave (Meghalaya)
WHEN? WHO? WHERE?
The longest sandstone caves in the world are located in the North East region,
about 90 km from the pristine town of Shillong. Krem Puri Cave was discovered near
Laitsohum village in Mawsynram area in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya. It was Sandstone
discovered in 2016 but its actual length was found during expedition to measure and
map it by Meghalaya Adventurers’ Association (MAA)

FUNCTION? EVENTS OF THE TIME? HUMANITIES?

Despite being discovered as the longest sandstone caves in the whole world,
Krem Puri is a prime location for discovering ancient fossils for which many cave
experts come up here to indulge in excavations and to conduct studies. And with
this new discovery, many more are touted to come by and experience the calm beauty
of the longest sandstone caves in the world. It is highlt unlikely that the caves were
inhabited by humans, say scientists, because the nomadic troglodytes generally preferred
roomy cave entrances or rock shelters. Also caves that get flooded during rains are not
fit for habitation, and that would mean that most caves in Meghalaya have not seen
any humans living in them. And despite the fact that most caves have never seen humans
living in them, there is evidence of some have been used as wartime shelters, others as
shelter for hunters and at least one which was used as a burial ground.

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE? DESIGN FEATURES?

-The cave is 24,583 metres (24.5 km) in length and is known for its complex
cave systems hidden under its undulating hills.

-At 4,025ft (1227m) above sea level and overlooking a deep valley, the
2016
opening is at the base of a steep cliff.

-Krem Puri is an incredibly complex maze of hundreds of short passages and

long stretches of corridors that are interconnected in a big network. The pattern
of the maze is quite unique, and makes the cave a real labyrinth. It has some fine
stalactites and stalagmites.

- There’s also abundant fauna - frogs, fish, giant Huntsman spiders, bats.
Bibliography
TAWANG MONASTRY-
https://tawang.nic.in/tourist-place/tawang-monastery/-
https://www.nativeplanet.com/travel-guide/visit-tawang-monastery-the-largest-buddhist-monastery-in-india-004085.html-
https://www.tourmyindia.com/states/arunachalpradesh/tawang-monastery.html -
https://www.livehistoryindia.com/snapshort-histories/2017/11/04/tawang-monastery-the-tale-of-the-hats

RANG GHAR-
http://www.assaminfo.com/tourist-places/3/rang-ghar.htm-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rang_Ghar-
https://www.holidify.com/places/sibsagar/rang-ghar-sightseeing-3537.html

KANGLA FORT-
https://www.incredibleindia.org/content/incredibleindia/en/destinations/imphal/kangla-fort.html-
https://imphalwest.nic.in/tourist-place/kangla/- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangla_Palace-
https://www.goibibo.com/destinations/imphal/places-to-visit-in-imphal/kangla-fort-3826591515864946284/-
https://medium.com/@prakritigroupindia/kangla-palace-manipur-84c67431575c

UJJAYANTA PALACE-
https://westtripura.nic.in/tourist-place/ujayanta-palace/-
https://www.incredibleindia.org/content/incredibleindia/en/destinations/agartala/ujjayanta-palace.html-
https://www.holidify.com/places/agartala/ujjayanta-palace-sightseeing-1011.html-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ujjayanta_Palace

KREM PURI CAVES-

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43708758-
https://curlytales.com/head-to-krem-puri-in-india-discovered-as-the-longest-sandstone-caves-in-the-world/-
https://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/worlds-longest-sandstone-cave-krem-puri-discovered-in-meghalaya-1522060314-1-
https://lbb.in/bangalore/meghalaya-krem-puri-largest-caves-india/-
https://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/krem-puri-worlds-longest-sandstone-cave-discovered-meghalaya-03201853659.html