Talatal Ghar

Talatal Ghar
Talatal Ghar or "The Rangpur Palace", Sivasagar (View of one of the wings of the Talatal Ghar)
Talatal Ghar or "The Rangpur Palace", Sivasagar (View of one of the wings of the Talatal Ghar)
General information
Architectural style	Tai Ahom Architecture
Location	Sivasagar Assam India
Coordinates	26.9663056°N 94.6246917°E / 26.9663056; 94.6246917
Client	Rajeswar Singha
Technical details
Structural system	Bricks and indigenous varieties of cement
Design and construction
Architect	Ghanashyam

The Talatal Ghar Template:IPA-as) is an 18th century palace and military base located in Rangpur, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from present-day Sivasagar, Assam, India. It is the largest of the monuments built by the Ahom dynasty.

The visitors are only allowed to scout through the ground floor, the first floor, and what remains of the 2nd and 3rd floors of the monument.

History

Swargadeo Rudra Singha shifted the capital of the Ahom kingdom from Garhgaon to Rangpur in 1702-03 and it remained so for almost a century. It is located in the western part of Sivasagar. The earliest constructions were commissioned by Swargadeo Rudra Singha in 1698. Rangpur was the last capital of the Ahom kingdom and served as its military-station.

Architecture

Talatal Ghar

The Talatal Ghar was initially built as an army base. It houses two secret tunnels, and three floors below ground level which were used as exit routes during the Ahom conflicts with other kingdoms (and which give the structure its name). The Rangpur Palace is a seven-storied structure (1751-1769 CE).

• (Swargadeo Rajeswar Singha) added the three floors below ground, which make up the Talatal Ghar. This is made of brick and an indigenous type of cement (a mixture of Bora Chaul—a sticky variety of rice grain—eggs of swan, etc.). The Talatal Ghar had two secret tunnels. One, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) in length, connected the Talatal Ghar to the Dikhow River, while the other, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) long, led to the Garhgaon Palace, and was used as an escape route in case of an enemy attack.
• From east to west, several rooms run along a long corridor; and from north to south are numerous smaller wings. The ground floor served as stables, store rooms, and servants' quarters. The Kareng Ghar was built mainly of wood, which deteriorated over time. The Royal apartments were on the upper story, of which only a few rooms now remain, close to an octagonal room on the northern wing which once served as the Puja Ghar (prayer house). There are stairs leading up to the terrace. An isolated room stands in the south which is believed to have been used by the queen during her confinement.

However, the first Ground Penetrating Survey (GPR) in the northeast, undertaken at two Ahom monuments in the Sivasagar district in early April 2015, did not reveal the existence of any secret tunnel. The survey was carried out by IIT Kanpur, in collaboration with the Guwahati circle of the Archaeological Survey of India, over a period of five days at Talatal Ghar and Ahom Royal Palace (Kareng Ghar), both in Sivasagar district.

The Rangpur Palace was once surrounded by a brick fortification and an earthen fort (Garh) with dikes filled with water. There is a Gola Ghar (gunpowder and ammunition store) near the palace.

Photo gallery

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  View of the Talatal Ghar

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  View from the top floor of the Talatal Ghar

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  View of a staircase inside the Talatal Ghar palace

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  Terrace of the Talatal Ghar

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  Talatal ghar corridor

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  Inside wall of Talatal Ghar

See also

• Rang Ghar, Sivasagar
• Sivasagar
• Charaideo

Notes and references

Citations

Bibliography

• Nath, Hemanta Kumar (2005), Arowan, Rangpur Utsav Celebration Committee, Sivasagar
• Gogoi, Prem (1999–2000), Boranjiya Parasa Rangpur, Rangpur Tinisah Basar Otjapan Samiti, Sivasagar
• Archaeological Survey Report (March 1902), Archaeological Survey Report, Government of India, Bengal Circle