• Know in brief about Tripura’s bamboo and tribal tourism.

While flipping through pages of Mint – a financial daily newspaper in India, I was awestruck by a well researched article, Bamboo craft from Tripura, auctioned at Christie’s such that read the entire piece from head to toe.

Thanks to Komal Sharma, the journalist who opened my eyes on Tripura’s Bamboo industry. When the world famous Assam Tea made its entry into Harrods, it was an unbelievable moment for my family just like when we got to know that the limited-edition Truss-Me bamboo collection, designed by Bengaluru-based interior designer Sandeep Sangaru, made its entry into the Christie’s auction house.   

Among the modern masterpieces listed in the 154-page Design London catalogue that went to auction was a section on “Asian and Contemporary Design"—featuring objects from China, Japan, Vietnam and India. Sangaru’s Truss-Me Clothes Stand, sold for £3,000 (around Rs2.5 lakh) with premium. 

Tripura is the land of my great grandfather and we still have some acres of land in a far flung village. I was fortunate to come across a gentleman and an Indian defence personnel-Mihir Bhattacharjee, who has been playing the role of a mentor to perfection, when it comes to the question of getting familiar with Tripura.

More than a century back poet Rabindranath Tagore had written to the then Maharaja of Tripura, requesting him to send saplings of a rare variety of bamboo – the Mooli Bamboo.  This bamboo played a stellar role in the scientific experiments carried out by India’s pioneering scientist - Jagadish Chandra Bose.

Tripura is all of 10,490 square km. out of which app 59.98% is covered by forest. The two major forest types are Evergreen and Moist Deciduous forest. This makes it ideal for Bamboo based Eco-Tourism with options like Tree House recreation, tribal tourism, village immersion tours etc......

Bamboo is the most essential non timber forest produce that tribal people rely upon and it plays a vital role in the socio-economic upliftment of the rural populace. In fact, bamboo touches every aspect of the lives of the people of Tripura by way of providing shelter, furniture and bewildering array of artistic objects in the form of home décor.

The whole world is chasing sustainability. Tripura is an ideal region to launch the Tree House Tourism initiative which is gradually taking centre stage in states like Kerala, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.  Blessed with Bamboo forests and tribal culture, this might revolutionize Tripura’s tourism industry.

The Government of Tripura has already set up the Tripura Bamboo Mission to implement the cultivation of bamboo with a cluster approach. If the State Forest Department (SFD) works in collaboration with the Department of Tourism in a mutually beneficial manner, this new concept (Tree House Recreation) could be a milestone in the anals of North East India’s tourism landscape. 

According to Mihir Bhattacharjee, one of the most vocal Rastrawadi/Nationalist adherent –“By dint of being a defence personnel, I have travelled the length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent and have first-hand experience of how states like Kerala and Rajasthan are implementing this rather novel, eco-friendly and green initiative and I have no hesitation in asserting that the state of Tripura is perfectly suitable for launching the Tree House concept of Tourism. The geography, landscape and the bewildering array of tribes that inhibit this magnificent state could be the ideal launching pad for Tree House Tourism”.

What is a tree house? 

It is a platform or house built around branches or trunks of trees that are slightly elevated above ground level. Some of the farm tree house resorts like the once in Munnar, Chikmagalur, Jaipur, Vythiri etc....have been an outright hit with tourists, Indian and foreign.  

Tree houses have all the comforts like bathrooms, electricity, water, and even air conditioning options. Investment wise too, tree houses are quite affordable as compared to apartments or hotels. To build a basic tree house with modern amenities, it might cost you about Rs 5-10 lakhs.

If local tribal customs and traditions are anything to go by, the concept of tree house isn’t an alien concept, at least not in Tripura and the North East of India. I can personally site the example of Nagaland’s “Morungs” or youth dormitories.

In case of Tripura, the Reang tribals still build their houses with bamboo. In a typical Reang village of Tripura, the site of pretty houses built in the midst of trees where even the roofs are made out of specially shaped bamboos is a scene straight out of a fairytale land. These Reang tree houses are built upon bamboo slits that offers space for a horizontal platform, which in this case serves as the floor of the house. The manner in which Reang tribals arrange bamboos on a square grid and incline the  whole bamboo structure, is a marvel in architecture.

The days of hotel, sightseeing and back to the hotel are gone.  These days’ tourists demand real experiences during his /her holidays. The demand is for pleasant surroundings, usually at reasonable rates which Tripura does have in abundance.

The essential ingredient of this new kind of tourism package is the organization of recreation which alone can enrich the tourism experience by allowing greater integration with the place visited and fuller involvement in the social and cultural life of the rural destination.

According to Mihir Bhattacharjee – “The tourists on their arrival to the village are allowed to fish in the pond at a very concessional rate. The gardens are open for the tourists so that they can “Pay, Eat and Pluck” the vegetables and fruits. When this system is fully evolved, the middle man who gets a major share of the income finds no place and the market is brought close to the village”. 

The local government (Municipality) first needs to identify a bunch of bamboo villages for accelerated tourism development. The pivotal idea is to construct Tree Houses made of straw and bamboo alongside the water bodies so as to provide shelter to tourists. Unique tribal folk songs and traditions can be showcased in the central podium of the village. For the diehard fishing and angling enthusiasts, leisurely boat rides on the water bodies may be encouraged and permission may be granted for fishing in the waters, which will come at a price. Fishing equipments may be rented out to the tourists as well to heighten the touristy experience.

It has to be borne in mind that the Village Tourism which would be developed will not at all be a simulated one. City residents who have not seen the authentic village life would get a glimpse of village life.

Even a decade back, tree houses used to be kid stuff, but not anymore as more adults are building houses in trees. The joy of being tucked up in a remote arboreal hideaway is the stuff that dreams are made of and they have even been the subjects of best-selling books and popular exhibitions.

Hopefully, Tripura will metamorphose into one of India’s idyllic Tree House Tourism hub.

The ethereal ambience of staying in a tree house is best summed up by O.C. Thomas thus - Rainforest Athirapally Owner

“When you get face to face with raw nature, that’s when you start noticing — myriad colours, textures and sounds. You have stumbled upon a place so unadulterated, that we don’t want you to take back mere clicks of the place. Breathe in, take back that feeling home. Everything you see, hear and feel is an outcome of great detailing. Every moment is crafted to transform them into memories, which can’t be described in pictures or words.” 

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