Manmohini Devi Explained

Maharani Khuman Chanu Manmohini Devi was the third Maharani consort of Tripura through her marriage to Maharaja Birchandra Manikya. She was a contemporary royal photographer who choreographed her self-portraits with the Maharaja^[1] and was considered the first Indian woman who mastered the art of photography.^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

Biography

She was the niece of Maharaja's first wife, Queen Ningthem Chanu Bhanumati. She married Maharaja when she was only 13 years.^[6] The Maharaja gave the land at Math Chowmuhani as her share. She also established a temple and a 'mandapa' near the present Iskcon temple at Tripura.^[7]

She became a royal photographer under the tutelage of her husband, and she organized photography exhibitions in the palace where both of their photographs were exhibited. The Journal of the Photographic Society of India – May 1890 Issue emphasized their photographs with the title "The Camera Club of the Palace of Agartala."^[2] She is regarded as India's first female photographer.^{[8] [9]}

Notes and References

1. News: Sinha . Gayatri . Maharaja Ram Singh II of Jaipur was a radical pioneer of photography . The Hindu . 7 September 2019 . en-IN.
2. News: Bureau . DID YOU KNOW India's 1st female photographer was probably from Northeast India! . The Northeast Today . 12 April 2018 . en.
3. News: A Woman In 19th Century Bengal Paved The Way For The First Female Photographers In India . homegrown.co.in . 11 December 2019 . en.
4. News: Did you know Kolkata produced the first professional female photographer of India? . Get Bengal . 8 December 2019.
5. Book: Kumar . K. G. Pramod . G . Pramod Kumar K. . Posing for Posterity: Royal Indian Portraits . Lustre Press . 978-81-7436-878-2 . en.
6. News: Bureau . History of Manipuri Queens in Tripura & their contribution towards development of state . The Northeast Today . 2 October 2018 . en.
7. Singha . Memchaton . Matrimonial Alliances between the Royal Houses of Tripura and Manipur in the Days of Monarchy . 31 August 2014 . Social Science Research Network . 2489572 . en.
8. Book: Deb Barma, Aloy . Cinema as art and popular culture in Tripura: An introduction . Debroy . Prajapita . . 2022 . 978-81-958995-0-0 . 15 . en . 44969662M.
9. Sengupta . Debjani . Zenana Studio: Early Women Photographers of Bengal, from Taking Pictures: The Practice of Photography by Bengalis, by Siddhartha Ghosh . The Trans-Asia Photography Review . 1988 . 4 . 2 . 2158-2025.