u/Common_Secretary6803

^(Note: more emphasis on architecture in barak valley and dima hasao .)

The Dimasas have historically ruled over several regions and constructed several forts temples and Monolithic structures in North East

Historical records state that Dimasas had their first Capital along the Banks of Dhanashree river in Dimapur. The archeological remains exhibit a gateway of the fortified city with pointed arches, carved battlements, octagonal turrets etc. can be assigned so fifteenth century AD. Among other remains are the monolithic carved pillars lying within the complex. Similar architecture can be found in kasomari pathar in Golaghat distrct of Assam .

In 1526 when Ahoms driven of the Dimasa from Dimapur , they entered the Hills of present day Dima hasao and settled their capital at Maibong . The fortified complex is mostly obliterated now except a monolithic hut hewn out in a big boulder on the Mahur river is survived against the odd vagaries of nature. Inscriptions inscribed in wall stones suggest that the temple was dedicated to the Goddess Ranachandi by the Dimasa king Haris Chandra in 1721 AD.

The notable feature of the monolithic temple is the do-chala roof curvilinear eaves show the influence of Bengal's architecture.

It is believed that in mid 18th century century, the Dimasas had established their capital at Khaspur in the Barak valley.

The valley was referred to 'Chandrapuri Visaya' in the Nidhanpur copper plate grant of Bhaskar Varman of Kamarupa in 7th century AD. It throws light on the cultural activities of the people and narrated about the existence of temples but none of such structures are exist now.

However, in the valley some temples of brick masonry of the Dimasa dynasty of late medieval period can be seen. It is believed that the king Haris Chandra Narayan had built a Siva temple at Khaspur in saka 1683 corresponding to AD 1771 and built also a palace at the locality. The monuments standing at the site are a gateway popularly known as Singha dwar, Baradwari, Snan Mandir and temples of Ranachandi. Made of brick masonry, the structures are alike in external decorations and the influence of chala architecture of Bengal can be clearly noticed.

Most of the temples are smaller structures with chala roofs are having tapered pilasters at the corners. The door openings are arch shaped. The temple walls are provided with depressions. The use of lattice patterns are also visible in some of the structures. "Baradwari' is a work of brick masonry, built in double story and possesses twelve openings. Another notable structure is the Snan Mandir, probably used for sacred bathing of the deity. The small structure is unique in appearance and style has four openings on four directions and topped by a domical finial. Several such temple structures with chala coverings are found in the Bihara-Brahmangaon and Sonai localities in the valley.

The temple architecture of the Dimasa does not appear innovative in style.The architectural features do not reflect any evolutionary trend.

However, an attempt had been made to evolve a new style in later period. This is evident in the Siva Mandir and Nandi Mandir at Sonai, built during the reign of Krishna Chandra (AD 1780–1813). The temples have square plans with elongated devakosthas, rectangular insets, and pyramidal sikharas. Their architecture differs from both the Maibong–Khaspur tradition and ​ the temples of the Brahmaputra Valley, but this later architectural style did not survive for long.

It may be all probable that the Dimasa rulers might had brought the skilled artisans who possessed the mastery over the work on brick masonry with chala shaped huts and most probably the artisans had been brought from Bengal.

The Dimasa Architecture grew heavily under Bengal's influence and ended with the decline of the Dimasa rule. The Kachari Fort built during this time depicts the noteworthy architecture and a mix of Non-Aryan and Hinduism culture

Scrolling through Twitter these things make my blood boil , there will always be bot accounts with supposedly indian stereotypical Account names and adding israel flag, posting false content ​regularly to defame indians and hindus .

These accounts are run by foreigners

This Video I came across is clearly AI generated and even the Native chinese people are shocked or disappointed that we are doing nothing against such online racism spread through propaganda​, what should we do ?

May the spirit of sacrifice and devotion inspire you to become a better person.

So it's Pretty well circulated that Godess Kamakhya is supposed to be of tribal origin so I was curious about where it's comming from.. I wanted to review the primary sources not any independent ​reasearch paper or any website sitations

Even Google AI gives very big claims

So till now i have ​read these sources

Kalika purana/Yogini tantra references ( cuz Google AI says that hindu texts acknowledge the tribal origins) ( spoiler : it doesn't)

ASI records and kamakhya.org for reading about the temple structure

And Banikanta Kakati's "​Mother Godess Kamakhya "

So are there any other primary sources for this tribal origin assertion?

​

Lumding sub is incomplete without Maa's image

^(Visited lumding this Shitla Puja)

By now, almost all of us are aware that Tagore is connected to Lakshminath Bezbarua, as Bezbarua married the niece of Tagore, Pragyasundari Devi. But another under discussed story about Tagore is his three visits to Assam. In 1919, in 1923 and in 1927. He also had close connections to numerous Assamese writers and famous personalities, for example, Deshbhakta Tarunram Phukan's connection to Thakur's family. Then Surya Kumar Bhuyan, the renowned historian of Assam, went to Jorasankor Thakurbari with his wife and met Tagore. Bhuyan's write-up 'One Hour with Tagore' gives readers a vivid description of the meeting.

Tagore stood as an ideal figure for the Assamese litterateurs. He had the fortune to be acquainted with poems of Bengali poet and folksong writer Hasan Raja during one of his visits to Assam.

Some historical photographs show Tagore with Assamese figures. One such shows him with Satyanath Bora, Hemchandra Goswami, Bholanath Das and Banikanta Kakati. Another one shows him students of the Cotton College in Guwahati.

During Tagore's 1919 Guwahati visit, he received massive public reception. He then visited Shillong, the former capital of undivided Assam and stayed there at Brookside Compound, a house in the Rilbong area on the outskirts of the city. He also wrote a poem named 'Shillong-er Chithi' meaning 'The letter to Shillong'. He also visited the Barak Valley of Assam, particularly the Karimganj area which he named Sribhumi translating to the Land of Lakshmi. In his memory, the Assam government renamed Karimganj district as Sribhumi in 2024. Moreover, a university named 'Rabindranath Thakur University' was built in Hojai.

His influence on Assam and its personalities remains significant to this date. His story is a perfect example of Assam's long lasting ties with Bengal.

On ocassion of the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore lt is remember his connection to Tripura

The relationship between Rabindranath Tagore and Tripura was among the longest and most substantial associations the poet maintained with any princely state in India. It stretched across generations of the Manikya dynasty and evolved through literary admiration, political trust, financial patronage, and cultural collaboration. In many ways, the story of Tagore and Tripura also reflects the larger intellectual relationship between Bengal and the northeastern frontier during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The foundations of this relationship predated Rabindranath himself. During a political crisis in the nineteenth century, Maharaja Krishna Kishore Manikya of Tripura had established contact with Prince Dwarkanath Tagore and received assistance from him. This early interaction created familiarity between the Tagore household and the Tripura royal family. Rabindranath himself later referred to this connection in a letter dated May 6, 1886 addressed to Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya, while seeking historical material from Tripura for literary purposes.

Tripura’s royal court had by then already emerged as an important patron of Bengali language and culture. The Manikya rulers, especially from the time of Ratna Manikya onward, maintained close engagement with Bengali literary traditions. Under Bir Chandra Manikya this cultural orientation acquired a distinctly modern form. Bir Chandra was not merely a patron king in the ceremonial sense. He was deeply involved in photography, painting, music, Vaishnav literature, and artistic experimentation. Contemporary accounts often describe him as a ruler with the temperament of a cultural intellectual. One of the defining moments in the Tagore-Tripura relationship came in 1882. Bir Chandra was grieving after the death of his wife, Queen Bhanumati Devi, and during this period he read the young Rabindranath’s poem Bhagna Hriday. The emotional intensity of the work deeply affected him. At a time when Tagore was still a young and often criticized writer within Bengali literary circles, Bir Chandra recognized extraordinary promise in him. He sent his political secretary, Radharaman Ghosh, to the Tagore residence at Jorasanko to personally congratulate the poet. The king is also said to have considered purchasing a printing press to facilitate the publication of Tagore’s writings, disturbed by the hostility and dismissiveness that many critics directed at the young poet’s early works.

Tagore later recalled this recognition with visible warmth in his memoir Jiban Smriti. For a young writer struggling for literary acceptance, the support of a cultured monarch carried enormous significance. Bir Chandra reportedly declared that he foresaw a remarkable future for Rabindranath, long before the Nobel Prize transformed him into a global literary figure. This marked the beginning of a relationship that would continue across four successive rulers of Tripura.

The connection also influenced Tagore’s creative work directly. While corresponding with the Tripura court and studying elements of the kingdom’s history, he developed literary material that later shaped some of his major writings, including Rajarshi and the plays Visarjan and Mukut. These works drew inspiration from episodes connected to the Tripura royal family and court traditions. In this sense, Tripura did not merely patronize Tagore; it entered his literary imagination.

After Bir Chandra’s death in 1896, the relationship continued seamlessly under Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya. During his reign, Tagore visited Tripura for the first time in 1900. Radha Kishore maintained close communication with the poet and frequently sought his advice on matters of governance and administration. The relationship had by then expanded beyond literature into intellectual consultation and institutional support. Radha Kishore also became an important patron of scientific and educational activity linked to Tagore’s wider circle. When the scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose faced financial difficulties while in England, Tagore approached the Tripura ruler for assistance. The request was granted. Such episodes reveal how the Tripura court functioned as an active participant in Bengal’s broader intellectual and cultural world.

Perhaps the most enduring contribution of the Tripura monarchy lay in its support for Visva-Bharati. Maharaja Radha Kishore sanctioned annual financial grants for the institution, and this patronage continued for decades under subsequent rulers. The support eventually became part of Tripura’s regular state expenditure and continued until the reign of Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya, the last ruling monarch of princely Tripura. Under Maharaja Birendra Kishore Manikya, the relationship retained both ceremonial warmth and intellectual seriousness. After Tagore received the Nobel Prize in 1913, celebrations were organized in Tripura in honour of the poet. Tagore visited the state again in 1919 during Birendra Kishore’s reign, further strengthening cultural ties between Santiniketan and Agartala. Tripura’s contribution to Santiniketan was not limited to money alone. Renowned artist Dhirendra Krishna Debbarman and Manipuri dance scholar Buddhimanta Singh were sent to Visva-Bharati from Tripura. Their presence played a role in introducing and institutionalizing Manipuri dance within the university’s artistic curriculum. This became historically important because Santiniketan later emerged as one of the major centers through which Manipuri dance gained wider national and international recognition. Tagore’s final visit to Tripura took place in 1926, during the reign of Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya. Bir Bikram belonged to a younger generation of rulers but maintained deep admiration for Tagore and his cultural ideals. In May 1941, only months before the poet’s death, a special celebration was organized in Tripura to mark Tagore’s eightieth birthday. Shortly before his passing, Bir Bikram personally visited Santiniketan and conferred upon Tagore the title “Bharat Bhaskar.” When Tagore died later that year, Tripura observed official mourning at the king’s instruction.

The emotional closeness between the poet and the state also found expression in Tagore’s own words on Tripura. In one of his most remembered lines about the land, he wrote: “When the woodlands of Tripura have sent out invitations to their floral feast through their courier of the south wind, I have come as a friend.” The statement captured the unusual nature of the relationship. Tagore was not simply an honoured guest at a princely court. Over decades, Tripura had become part of his cultural and literary world.

“Rabindranath lived in this bungalow”

Remembering Tagore's ties with shillong on his birth aniversary

Tagore visited Shillong not just once, but thrice in ​1919, 1923, and 1927

No other hill station has had the privilege of hosting the illustrious poet so many times. Several iconic literary creations emerged from these three visits. The classic master piece romantic novel Shesher Kobita, is set in the backdrop of Shillong . Raktakarobi and Shillonger Chiti are the other well-known creations associated with his Shillong visit.

Shillonger Chiti is a true representation of how profoundly Tagore’s poetic sense was captivated by the innate natural beauty of Shillong

In his memoirs, the poet describes the winding road to Shillong as ‘aka – baka – poth’ with eye catching forests on either side. He celebrates the unique aroma of the Pine trees and is charmed by the Rhododendrons of the evergreen Khasi Hills. Shillong’s calmness and tranquillity surrounded by Pine and Deodar trees reflects well in all such Tagore’s work.

During his first visit, Tagore stayed for 20 days at a bungalow known as Brookside, which is now owned by the Art and Culture Department of Meghalaya Government

It was during his second visit, that Tagore stayed at ‘Jitbhumi’ for two months, which at that time belonged to his niece. He was just back from a year-long trip to Europe and America. It was during his time here that he wrote Raktakarobi (Red Oleanders), a drama reflecting his experience of the largely mechanical and materialistic life in the West. A significant event during this second visit was the celebration of Tagore’s birthday on the 8th of May, 1923.

That ‘Jitbhumi’ owners have retained the bungalow in its original form and preserved many of his precious memories speaks volumes about their admiration and respect towards the renowned poet.

During his third and final visit in May-June 1927, Tagore stayed at Solomon Villa, later renamed as Sidli House in Upland Road, Laitumkhrah. During this time, he composed the novel Tinpurush, which he later renamed as Yogayog. He penned a few poems too. The letters he wrote to friends and family are also preserved. This heritage house no longer exists.

Besides Tagore, Shillong has also been fortunate to host Swami Vivekananda and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. However, it’s extremely unfortunate that there has been no effort to preserve the heritage homes where people of such stature have stayed. Most are destroyed. It’s a blessing therefore that ‘Jitbhumi’ is owned by people who understand and value the glorious heritage linked to eminent distinguished people, like Tagore.

P.S. I am bad at editing 🥲