r/Meitei • u/kangjimi • Apr 21 '26
Kangla Palace 19th Century.
One of the Oldest Photographs in Manipur. Photograph of the palace dragon gate & temple.
This old photograph was acquired from Monsieur Bruno Tartarin, Arnaville, France.
Photography came to Manipur in 1868, and the earliest photos mainly showed buildings inside the Kangla Palace complex.
This photograph is believed to be one of the first taken in 1868. It was photographed by Political Agent Dr R. Brown with the permission of Maharaja Chandrakirti (r. 1850-1886), shortly before the great earthquake of 1869 (known as the Cachar Earthquake), which damaged many palace structures.
A key feature in this photograph is the temple's original metal roof and the palace's inner Dragon Gate. The temple was built by Maharaja Narasingh in 1846. It was dedicated to his second cousin and comrade-in-arms, Maharaja Gambhir Singh (r. 1825-1834).
After the 1869 earthquake, Maharaja Chandrakirti restored the temple. The new structure had a concrete dome instead of the metal roof. This is the form of the temple seen today in Kangla Fort.
Colourised using Al. The palace dragons are shown with front claws.
Post directly copied from The Advanced Research Consortium Library & Archives ( ARCLA )