Many might
wonder what Burma has to do with Ratnagiri. But you will be surprised to know
there is a strong connection, a historic connection which can’t be forgotten.
The Burmese king and the royal family lived here in a palace for many years,
and still exist in Ratnagiri. It’s an imposing structure, with traditional
design in red. A quiet reminder of the history of the days gone by which had
seen better days and the glorious past during the British rule in India. Read
on to know how did the Burma king, and his royal family arrive from faraway
Burma to Ratnagiri, a little known remote town on the west coast of India in
the state of Maharashtra.
For many years on our journey from Mumbai to Goa,
travelling by rail or road we passed Ratnagiri. We had heard of a few places of
interest to be seen here. But never bothered to stop and explore the spots. Later
we planned a specific trip to Ratnagiri to spend a few days and visit the
places around. We went by road in two cars to enjoy the beautiful sights on the
way. We booked accommodation in advance and stayed in a home stay; a well
laid-out and furnished bungalow with modern amenities and parking. Through a
contact, hired a vehicle from a local to visit and explore the tourist spots,
beach, historical places and famous temples around Ratnagiri. It was worth a
visit as we got a chance to see some interesting places, some historical sites
and popular temples and monuments.
Ratnagiri is a port town in Maharashtra, western
India and has a busy station on the route of Konkan Railway. And can be reached
by road and rail. Overlooking the Arabian Sea, Ratnadurg Fort and the Bhagwati
temple and a lighthouse are the main attractions. Northeast, a fish museum and
aquarium that includes turtles and a whale skeleton draw crowds. North of the
city, the popular Ganpatipule Temple is dedicated to Lord Ganesh. Northeast, visitors
can visit Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary, a forest area sheltering tigers. Ratnagiri
has a diverse range of tourist attractions in the form of monuments,
temples, and beaches. The beaches of this region are the most popular ones and
some of the famous sand trails are Pawas Beach, Ganeshghule Beach, Ganpatipule
Beach, etc. Places to visit in Ratnagiri - Bhatye Beach, Mandavi Beach, Marine
Aquarium & Museum, Thiba Palace/Thibaw Palace, Ratnadurg Fort, Ganeshgule
Beach and temple are the main attractions.
Ratnagiri is the birthplace of Indian freedom
fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He was born here on 23 July 1856
after which he moved to Pune with his family when he was 10 years
old. Ratnagiri was also is the place of confinement of Vinayak Damodar
Savarkar from 1921 to 1935, initially in jail and subsequently under confinement.
The native and the most spoken language in
Ratnagiri district is Maharashtra's state language Marathi along with a
local dialet Malvani and other languages like English and Hindi are spoken in
the urban areas like Ratnagiri and Chiplun. Mango, the king of fruits, is famous
for its splendid taste all over India as well as the world over. The Ratnagiri
district is famous for Alphonso mangoes. More than 65,000 acres of land is
under mango cultivation, and the biggest production of Alphonso mangoes in
India is in Ratnagiri.
I had read about the Burma connection some years
ago. Thibaw Palace was the residence of the exiled king of Burma. And it was during this trip, we found out
about the Palace, the Burmese king, the Thibaw rulers and decided to visit the
place. On the outskirts of Ratnagiri town we reached a large open area with a
few vehicles parked on the road with tourists and people gathered at the huge
gates leading to the palace grounds. Once inside, the pathway leading to the
palace was bare with only plants and trees. And at the far end the palace, a
massive red colour structure stood out. A mute spectator to the good and bad
days of long gone by years.The palace was built in 1910 for the king, with a
marble-floored dance hall and archaeological museum.
In 1886, King Thibaw of Burma was
exiled to Ratnagiri after he was deposed and his country annexed by
the British Empire. Along with his pregnant wife, his junior queen, and his
two young daughters, he lived in Ratnagiri for many years, as a prisoner of the
British Crown. Ratnagiri was chosen for its remote location, some 3,000 miles
from Thibaw's former royal seat of Mandalay, accessible only by sea for
parts of the year and far from any territory of any rival European power who could influence or try to rescue the king from here.
Burma (now Myanmar) was partitioned from India in
1935. Britishers took over the Burma kingdom and arrested King Thibaw last
Burmese king. Thibaw, was interned under the British from 1886 until his death
in 1916. The Thibaw Palace was built by the Britishers to keep King Thibaw
under house arrest. Though the king was under British rule, he was given legal
rights and was treated with state honour.
Thiba palace was built by British Government to
keep the former king of Brahmadesh (now Myanmar) Thabba Min in house arrest. It
was built in the year 1910. Until 1916, the king and queen of Myanmar lived in
this palace. Now there is a museum in this palace. Some of the things used by
King Thibaw are still preserved in this palace. The palace is a beautifully
constructed three storied structure with sloping roofs. Semi-circular wooden
windows with beautiful carvings are the main attraction of this structure.
There is a dancing hall with marble floor on the first floor. One Buddha idol
is installed at the back side of the palace. This idol was brought to India by
King Thibaw. One can have a mesmerizing view of Someshwar creek, Bhatye Bridge
and Arabian Sea from this point. This place is also famous for the beautiful
Sunset.
British after defeating the local Rajas in battle
did not kill or slay the rulers outright. The distant exiles were meant to
assuage the feeling of the subjects. The King is housed at a distant place with
no harm to them was the narrative. This policy allowed some time for the
British to rebuild a semblance of the administrative machinery of the
respective rulers and allow time for the subjects to accept British authority,
rather than demanding abrupt overnight submission. A hefty financial package
was allotted to each ruler so that they could live a comfortable life when in
exile, also giving the rulers a stake in the arrangement and thus dissuading
them from fomenting any trouble. It was astute thinking and smart policy of the
British that helped them to control and rule vast territories. Bahadur Shah Zaffar, the last Moghul emperor was defeated and was exiled from Delhi to Burma where he died later.
The Burmese King and his royal family lived in
comfort and a peaceful life away from his people and kingdom. The King was
granted certain special favours to keep them happy and not create any problems
for them in his land. They lived here till their end. Some of their descendants
are still living a simple and an unknown life. Once the rulers now most of them
live in abject poverty.
In 1995, Hindustan Times contacted the descendants
of the Thibaw rulers in Ratnagiri. They even managed to locate the
grand-daughter of King Thibaw, known as Tu Tu. As per the report -Tu Tu, was
brought up in poverty and not being educated, forgot all about her royal
heritage except having one sorry looking poster painting of her mother kept in
her home as a faint memory among the many gods. Without money or education, Tu
Tu married a local mechanic and had at least six or seven children, all of whom
are more Indian in appearance, religion and culture. Tu Tu, for whom Burma is a
forgotten past, still lives in Ratnagiri as an old woman and speaks fluent
Marathi with a rural Maharashtrian accent.
This is the sad story of the Burmese King and his
royal family, defeated by the British, exiled in a far away land and settled in
a remote town so that nobody could reach him to plan or create any trouble for
the British rulers in Burma. A sad end of the royal family compared to the
glorious days in Burma.
The best way to reach Ratnagiri is to take a bus or
a taxi from Mumbai if you plan a road trip. One can also reach by railway as
almost all trains on the Konkan railway halt here. Ratnagiri station is about 7
km and Ratnagiri bus station is 1 km from the palace. Best time to visit
Ratnagiri is from October to March. The summer here is pretty hot from
March till May. Ratnagiri is famous for Haapus Aam (Alphonso Mango). Tourists
can buy cashews, mangoes, aam panna, kokum sharbhat and other local
delicacies.
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