The Ujjayanta Palace is a landmark in Agartala. Ujjayanta Palace is considered amongst the royal houses of the Agartala that covers the area of around one square kilometer. This palace was constructed by the Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya in the period of 1899 to 1901. Ujjayanta Palace is a tourist attraction of Agartala, and tours are conducted by the Tripura Tourism Department. The name Ujjayanta Palace was given by Rabindranath Tagore. Upon the merger of the Kingdom of Tripura with India in 1949, royal properties were nationalised. Ujjayanta Palace remained unoccupied for some time before beginning its current role as the State Legislative Building.
The mansion comprises of the two storied mansion and built up with the mix architecture with 3 major domes. Amongst all the three, the central dome is about 86 feet high. The palace has an amazing tile floor, curved timber ceiling and wonderfully crafted doors are worth noticing. The palace is built by the great Mughal style gardens, decorated with the gardens and the pools and intricate designs on the tiled floors. The fountains and the flood lightning are associated to it which don’t leave any chance to enhance its beauty. The garden is well developed with two huge tanks on two different sides that has the leading road passing in between them. The fountains and the water cores are designed in the pattern that belongs to the Mughal garden. The chief block here contains 800 across that include public halls like Durbar Hall, Throne Room, Study, Library, Recreational Hall and many more.
The rooms of the palace open into the peaceful Mughal style gardens with pools. Flood lighting at night make the gardens look exciting and the fountains add more charm to it. Ujjayanta Palace was initially built 10 km away from Agartala and was destroyed by an earthquake in 1897. Later the palace was rebuilt in the city itself. This wonderful palace was designed by Sir Alexander Martin of Messrs Martin and Co. Do visit its Chinese room the ceiling of which was crafted by artisans brought from China.
The Ujjayanta Palace now plays host to the Assembly sessions. Hence, selected portions of the palace are opened for tourists only when the State Assembly is not in session. The palace is surrounded by several temples such as Lakshmi-Narayan, Uma-Maheshwari, Kali and Jagannath. Devotees from far and wide come for puja at these temples. The main attraction of the palace is the Musical Fountain or Dance of Fountain in tune with music. Don’t give a miss to the Ujjayanta Palace when you come to Tripura.
