Tripura tribals’ traditional cloth ‘Rignai Pachra’, Tripureswari temple’s ‘Pera’ get GI tag

Agartala, March 31 : Two Tripura products -- Pera (a sweet item) of famous Tripureswari temple and the Rignai Pachra, a traditional attire of tribal women, have accorded the geographical indication (GI) tag, Chief Minister Manik Saha said on Sunday.

Expressing his joy after two Tripura products received GI tags, the Chief Minister in his social media posts said: "I am extremely glad that Pera (sweet or prasad) of Tripureswari temple and Rignai Pachra, a traditional cloth of tribal women, have been given the GI tag.

"

He said that the Pera (or Peda) of Tripureswari temple made of milk and sugar, and Rignai Pachra cloth were made by the tribals, specially the women in their thousands of handwoven looms in their homes.

The famous Pera item traditionally used as prasad (god offering) at the Tripurasundari temple at Udaipur in Tripuras Gomati district, 64 km south of Agartala.

More than 260-year-old Tripurasundari temple is one of the 51 holy or shaktipitha and venerated sites in India and third such temple in eastern India after Kali temple in Kolkatas Kalighat and Kamakhya temple in Guwahati.

The Rignai Pachra is a handwoven cloth used as tribal womens upper garment, and also as headgear or a stole, and it is also given to others as a gift as a mark of love and respect.

sc/khz