How Tripura King And Queen Took India's First 'Selfie' In 1880 As An Intimate Royal Self-Portrait
In the age of social media, when our timelines and phone galleries are filled with selfies - many with various beauty filters - have you wondered what the first selfie could have been??
India's first 'selfie' was, in fact, taken in 1880 by Tripura's king and queen of the time.?
There once was a king and a queen?
In 19th-century Tripura, there was one king Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya and his queen Maharani Khuman Chanu Manmohini Devi.?
Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya is known as the architect of modern Agartala. One of his creations that modernised Agartala was the foundation of Agartala Municipality in 1871.?
His reign, from 1862 to 1896, witnessed a transformation that introduced contemporary administrative practices and elevated the status of Tripura, as noted by a Financial Express article.?
India's first female photographer?
At the time of his reign, cameras were available but were limited to the elite class in India, especially the Europeans.?
Besides being the builder of modern Tripura, Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya was also an avid photographer.?
Under him, the first-ever annual photographic exhibition was organised within the palace.?
The Foto ka Karkhana, a fully equipped studio in Madho Niwas, revealed the Maharaja's interest in photography.?
His third wife, Rani Manmohini Devi, also happened to have a natural flair for photography.?She trained as a royal photographer under her husband's guidance and staged photography exhibitions in the palace where both of their images were displayed.?
She is recognised as India's first female photographer, as stated by the Financial Express.?
An intimate royal self-portrait?
The first selfie in India would happen to be an intimate portrait of the royal couple.?
In the picture, the Maharaja is seen placing his right arm around his wife's shoulder, with her also clinging to him affectionately.?
At first glance, this may not seem like a 'selfie', but after a closer look, it can be seen that the Maharaja is holding something in his left hand - this is, in fact, the lever of a long wire control that operated the camera's shutter.
When the Maharaja pulled it, he successfully took one of the earliest self-portraits or selfies by an Indian.? ?
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