'My great-great-grandfather took first-ever selfie in India': Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma

New Delhi [India], September 17 (ANI): Tipra Motha Party founder and erstwhile royal of Tripura, Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, claimed that his great-great-grandfather, then Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya, took the first-ever selfie in India in 1880.

In an interview with ANI, Debbarma noted that the self-portrait of Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya and Meitei queen Maharani Manmohini Devi was the first “selfie” taken in the country, where they can be seen sitting next to each other, and hugging intimately. 

Pointing to the picture, Debbarma said, “First selfie ever taken, if you see in, this is my great great grandfather, that's the Maharani Manmohini. She's a Meitei princess.” 

Explaining the procedure of the photograph, he added, “If you see in his left hand, there is a button. It's a selfie, actually. So, the bulb comes out, and it's a selfie. It's the first selfie ever taken in 1880… wonderful titanium print.”

Describing the picture, he said, “They're very modern, you know, the indigenous rulers… This is 1880, almost 145 years ago. This is too much intimacy. But that's so sweet, if you love someone...”

When asked about the outfit, he said that the Maharani in the picture is wearing a Rignai, which is also called Phanek in Manipur. 

“It's almost like a Phanek, which is a Rignai, which we wear. In Kokbarok, we call it Rignai. In Manipur, they call it Phanek. And then the Maharaja, of course, wearing his dhoti,” he said.

Describing the jewellery worn by the Maharani, he added, “Burma is just across the border. All the rubies came from Burma. So those gorgeous pearls came in from China.”

He also said that the legendary author Rabindranath Tagore was their family friend, and three of his books were based on the royal family of Tripura.

“Three of the books of Tagore are written about our family. He (Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya) was a great friend of Tagore's,” the Tipra Motha chief said. (ANI)

The Tipra Motha Party is an alliance partner of the ruling BJP and is in power in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.

Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, formed the Tipra Motha Party (TMP) after he resigned from the Congress in 2019. The TMP won 13 seats in the 60-member Tripura Assembly in the 2023 state polls. (ANI)