Tale of a town, two lakes and a zoo, Tripura- Part Three, Train to Bangladesh and the huku monkey.

Kamalasagar and Sepahijhala are day trips from Agartala. And yet in a sense they linger on with you for days together.

Take for example Kamalasagar, a small man-made lake build some 25 odd kilometers away from Agartala. The lake was built in 15^th century. The lake is at the Bangladesh border and is a picnic spot for Agartalites. A small and yet widely revered Kalibari temple is nearby, raised on a hillock over looking the lake. The temple was built in 16^th century by Raja Dhanya Manikya. This place is therefore also known as Kasba Kalibari. The image of the goddess in the Kalibari temple is that of Mahishasurmardini. It is made up of sand stone. Devotees from different parts of the country and neighbouring Bangladesh offers visit to this sacred temple during festivals.

That is for the details of the place. But ask any person from Agartala and he will tell you that Kasba Kalibari is a place where people go for seeing something very commonplace and yet unusual for average Tripuri. A train. Yes a train.

Tripura due to its unusual geographical position is still not connected by railway to the rest of India. Despite, being a gentle terrain. But it wasn’t the case before partition, when it was connected to Calcutta by trains, through the Bangladeshi heartland. After the partition and the hatred that followed, the railroad connections died and were lost in the oblivion. Today from atop the Kalibari hillock one can see the Bangladeshi railway system and their trains- if one waits patiently. Kasba is only a kilometer away from Bangladeshi town of Comilla (a British misspelling for Kamala). There is another beautiful experience that one can have. Of seeing Bangladeshis on the other side of the border and seeing how porous and meaningless a border can be. People is Kasba constantly interact with people on the other side of the border. (By the way, imported cigarettes are cheaper on the other side, if one wants to buy). The extent of symbiosis can be gauged from the fact that Indian rupee is freely tradable among people on the other side too.

It made me wonder, the inanity of having borders. The nation-state model of geographical separations has existed only for a few centuries. Before that sovereignties were defined more along the lines of ethnicity and symbiosis. Perhaps that model was more humane and perhaps this model is the need of the hour. But we as a thinking creed can do better than this.

If one wants to stay back in this magical and interesting place, there is one Comilla view lodge. Run by Tripura tourism, the place is basic and yet comfortable. The caretaker of the place will arrange food and other necessities if you chose to stay back. I did.

Another reason of staying back for a day is to see the evening Pooja in the temple. It is an amazing experience. In the morning, I walked around the lake after informing the BSF guard on duty (not mandatory, but one should inform him because he knows the situation at ground, in times of tension it may be risky to stray in that area). In fact, technically speaking we strayed many a times into the Bangladeshi territory.

Going and Coming back from Kasba is very easy. From Agartala, there is a constant stream of buses going to this place. Just ask somebody, he will guide you where to catch them. The bus journey meanders through the Tripuri villages, and you can see the simplicity of life in them. And the verdant greenery all around the place.

Another daytrip from Agartala is the Sepahijhala zoo and sanctuary. Located about 30 km south of Agartala, the Sepahijhala Wildlife Sanctuary is a small reserve with a lake, zoo and botanical gardens. The place got its name from a nearby military camp in yesteryears (Sepahi being the vernacular for Soldier). And even though, this place is a small sanctuary, roughly 20 square kilometers and tucked away in a non-descript corner of the country, it is amazing well and scientifically maintained. And you will feel it for yourself after the tardiness of Delhi or Kolkata zoo.

The sanctuary has a beautiful zoo. Don’t miss the "huku" monkey of the place and the Rhinos and the spectacled monkey. The huku sound of the "huku monkey" will surely linger on with you even after years as it does with me. Then there is a botanical garden and a lake, where one can boat around. And there is a toy train, but runs only in winters. Unfortunately when I visited the place it wasn’t running. Another beautiful place to go over there is the educational centre run by the sanctuary. In fact, in retrospect I feel once can stay for weeks together in this place, seeing one place at a time. It can be a beautiful family experience. Should one intend to stay, he can stay back in a forest rest house. One can find out where to book it in Agartala.