24 Yrs of Tripurainfo.com & 19 Yrs of All Tripura Mega Quiz
Jayanta Debnath
November 6, 2024, 14:42:54
There is no dearth of people to condemn bad deeds in the media, and there is also dearth of people to praise good deeds. But there is a huge dearth of people to accept the truth as the truth. So from the beginning of www.tripurainfo.com, we are trying to present truth as truth. We have been trying to highlight the positive sides of Tripura too, which is backward in many ways, to the people of the world instead of the negative sides. And similarly, we are committed to make the 'Vocal for Local' slogan of the Chief Minister of the state and the Prime Minister of the country a reality. In the future also we want to continue the same work of bringing Tripura to the world map in the same way. This is our core purpose and commitment to unity.
Why am I saying this? At one point of time the people outside the State did not know where Tripura is? Whenever anyone went to and from the state for various jobs outside the state in trains, buses or planes, almost everyone I spoke to, acquaintances or strangers, had only one question - 'Tripura?' Where is it? Assam or Andhra? Not only me alone, but many people from Tripura have had such experiences in the country and abroad. At points of time, I tried to comfort my mind by thinking that these people outside the states do not have much common sense or knowledge. It was in the late 80s. Later in the early 90s, when there were conversations with strangers outside the state on various subjects, many would ask whether there is nothing but extremists in Tripura?
Year 1990! I had just started working with Tripura’s highest circulated Bengali Daily Newspaper Dainik Sambad. The Congress-TUJS coalition government was in power in the state. Almost every day there were terrorist attacks, looting and kidnapping somewhere in the state. I don't know why Bhupendra Chandra Dutta Bhowmik, the founder and editor of Dainik Sangbad, used to send me to cover this militancy and riots related incidental news from the beginning. And while going around the villages and hills to cover the events of these terrorist acts, I always remembered one thing - where are we, where are we going? Where is the end of those who are only killing and kidnapping people day and night with the slogan of independent Tripura? A whole generation of a state was witnessing only extremist terrorist acts since its birth. In this way, the state became known as a terrorist state to the people outside the state.
Although I was too young to think about it, I often wondered where the way out was. So I started trying to find the root cause of these organized terrorist incidents while covering the news for Dainik Sangbad. From 1993 to 1999 I did special research work on the militancy of Tripura. In 2000, I wrote a research book titled 'Santrashklanto Tripura', along with the history of these terrorist activities, which took place for 33 consecutive years from 1967 to 2000. The book was officially launched at the Kolkata Book Fair courtesy Dainik Sangbad. After the official launch of 'Santrashklanto Tripura' at the Kolkata Book Fair, my several interviews were published in various print and national TV media. All India media people in Kolkata asked me all sorts of questions about the terrorist activities in Tripura from which it seemed again that they don’t know anything about Tripura and its geographical location etc.
I don’t know why, both the local media and the media outside the state used to have more negative publicity about these terrorist activities of the state. There has never been much initiative on the part of the then state government to promote positively the good things of the state. So since 1998 another thought came to my mind on how to highlight Tripura to the outside world.
At that time, there was a lot of talk about Tehelka.com across the country. But the internet website was not prevalent in the state at that time. At the government level, some offices started using the Internet, but very few people had the idea of a news website. There was only one cyber cafe in the entire city of Agartala called “Tabbo PCO’ at near Rabindra Bhavan. There were also fewer skilled IT people to build websites. I kept thinking what could be done.
A friend, now Senior Advocate Subrata Sarkar informed me that there is a company he knows in Kolkata that makes websites. But he has no idea about how much money to be paid etc. But I really wanted to open a website. A medium like a website may be the only tool in the coming days to present the state to people outside the state. So one day suddenly I left for Kolkata alone. And with one friend from Kolkata, I went to a website development company named tathyo.com.
I went and saw two young boys from the state already working in that company. And they were basically the main builders of the website for that company. One of them is now Saugata Bhattacharya, the younger brother of my wife advocate Madhumita Bhattacharya. Another one is Sunirmal Sen, a resident of Ganraj Chowmuhani of Agartala. Through them I spoke with the director of the company Mr. Indranil Banerjee. But I had to come back after being disappointed with all the protocols and huge money he talked about.
But the urge to launch a website to promote Tripura abroad was chasing every intention and always the same thought came in the mind on how to create a website with whom? Suddenly one day I got information that there is a boy named Siddhartha near Agartala Badharghat. I immediately went out with my motorcycle to look for him. But I couldn't find out him. It went on like this for a long time. One day I got information that there was a boy named Biplab Chowdhury in a cyber cafe near Rabindra Bhavan. He was and still is quite good at making 'website'. Immediately, I went to that cyber cafe without delay. After all the discussions, it was decided - www.tripurainfo.com will be the address of our website. I also registered the domain name online. After a few days, I told all the events to my friend, journalist Manas Pal and the than senior journalist of Telegraph newspaper Mr. Sekhar Dutta. I explained the whole plan to both of them. And they immediately agreed to help in every way. I slowly started content development work.
Earlier I published several books on general knowledge, current affairs etc. on Tripura apart from my book on ‘Santrashklanto Tripura’ and daily news writings. I compiled the information published in these books and brought it to the webmaster. Initially our website did not have much information. There were three or four web pages and pictures of Tripura's Villages and several tourist spots.
When we searched in internet with the name 'www.tripurainfo.com', our mind was filled with joy when the pictures of Tripura popped up on the internet in red and white color web pages. I telephoned as many people as I knew outside the state and told them to visit the first private website from Tripura called www.tripurainfo.com. I also started giving this happy news to state government officers, intellectuals and senior journalists. Everyone applauded this initiative with joy and promised to help as much as possible. Aniruddha Laskar, a resident of Silchar, was then a journalist of Ajjtak TV in Agartala. A few days later he also joined our team. A few days later, Suman Debray and Kajal Kairi joined as photographers and Pradeep Majumder joined as journalist. Pradeep also worked at Tripura Observer English newspaper.
Initially our website content updates work was started from a cyber cafe next to Rabindra Bhavan. But how is it possible to update a news based website daily from a cyber cafe? Moreover, money is also one of the major factors. There was no government or private level advertisement to earn money. Almost all of the money I used to get as monthly salary from Dainik Sangbad went to run the website. But many people applauded the initiative and promised to help more or less if needed. Many people helped also and a year went by.
In the year 2002, the next year of official launch our website on 26th May 2001, I requested all the big clubs and puja organizers of the capital city to take pictures of their Puja idols and pandals promising to post them on tripurainfo website. Then people from outside the state could also watch your worship abroad. Incredibly, more than a dozen city club officials agreed. With my friend photo journalist Suman Deb Roy, the day before the start of Puja, I took pictures of all Durga Puja pandals and idols in the capital and uploaded them on the website. The money we got in this way in the first year covered the cost of many things. And this was our first income after launching the website. After seeing the Durga Puja Parikrama in Agartala on the website, at least a hundred people from outside the state sent e-mails praising the initiative, with many making promises of any kind of help. Many also sent advice on how to make money through new website. After going on like this for five years, one day in the month of February 2005, it was decided - we will hold a quiz program on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Tripurainfo.com. Actually the idea of organizing a quiz programme on a large scale had been mooted by state’s seniormost working journalist Sekhar Datta and we all agreed readily. Abhijit Bhattacharya, Principal of School of Science, Shyamlibazar became the quiz master.
In 2006, the success of the quiz program in the first year went to such an extent that the then Chief Minister Shri Manik Sarkar while inaugurating the program requested to see if this program could be held every year. As Chief Advisor and presently Chief Editor of Tripurainfo.com, Sekhar Dutta announced on the mike in response to the Chief Minister's request that such quiz programs will be tried every year from now on. Since then every year Tripurainfo has been organizing the quiz event which is known as “Info Quiz” in Agartala for the past 19 years. Not only that, Tripurainfo's Mega Quiz has gradually turned into an annual event in the capital city of Agartala. Besides, whenever any government private organization wants to conduct talent development programs like quizzes in other parts of the state, we help on call. Thus the quiz program has today become a series of talent development programs in every city and town of the state.
Tripurainfo has never done anything with a purely business perspective. Still not doing it. This institution has been built with the help of many people. Despite the delay, more or less help was received from the previous government in many cases as per the government norms. Tripura Information Technology Act was formulated in the year 2000 and the Government of Tripura revised its advertisement policy in 2009 and decided to provide advertisements on websites as well. It has been decided to advertise 25% of tender advertisements on private websites, especially for large contracting jobs where overseas contractors or supplier companies need to know. Anyway, because of this advertising policy of the state government at that time, we got some advantage in getting government advertisements. And gradually a little financial support comes from the private sector as well. Then several people were appointed permanently. Tripurainfo.com has evolved into an online media house as well as an information technology and publishing company due to the sincere cooperation and hard work of its associates. But after the 2018 assembly polls, ads on our website were suddenly stopped. Many letters have been circulated at the administrative level and since Sushanta Chowdhury became the Minister of Information and Cultural Department, however, lately advertisements are also being given on our website as per rules.
It is undeniable today that tripurainfo.com as Tripura's first online media house has been trying since its inception to spread the history and heritage of Tripura among the people outside the state and the good deeds of the people of the state and is successful today. Our positive efforts to promote the state outside the state will continue in the coming days too.
Tripurainfo.com's Mega Quiz event for the past 19 years is the biggest proof of Tripurainfo.com’s determination to move Tripura forward by learning from the past and keeping the future in mind. Anyone who searches the internet on Google will understand how popular Tripurainfo mega quiz shows are today even in a marginal state like Tripura. The 19th edition of Tripurainfo Mega Quiz is going to be held on 10th November at Agartala Rabindra Bhavan hall no-1. Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha will officially inaugurate this year's mega quiz. Former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, Minister Sushanta Chowdhury, Deputy Speaker Ramprasad Pal, Shri Deepak Majumder, Mayor, AMC, Shri Subashish Talapatra, Former Chief Justice of Orissa High Court, Hon’ble Judge Mr S C Das (Retd.), Dr. B. K. Kilikdar, Retired Judge and Presently Lokayukta, Tripura, Shri Krishna Kumar, Executive Director (Asset Manager) along with many other dignitaries have agreed to attend the function.
Notably, All Tripura Mega Quiz, organized by Tripurainfo and several government and non-government organizations of Tripura, entered its 19th year this year. Soft spoken gentleman, Abhijeet Bhattacharya popularly known as ‘Abhijit Sir’ to most, with a will forged in steel was the sole quizmaster of the first Tripurainfo mega quiz organized in way back in year 2005 will be seen this year too with other quizmasters. This year’s another quiz master like other years of tripurainfo mega quiz will be Nandu Kumar Panicker , who is an accomplished singer and also an avid cricket fan and a Competent Officer of State Planning Department . Though he works for the government of Tripura in the Planning Department, he is an keen quiz lover and has been associated as a quizmaster of Tripurainfo mega quiz since 2010.
A little Quiz Master Madhuja Debnath (Mahi) of only 12 year old, who is, class Seven student of Auxilium Girls School of Agartala will be one of the three quiz masters of the 19th Open Mega Quiz programme of Tripurainfo.com as last year. A proud member of tripurainfo mega quiz team, Madhuja popularly known as ‘Mahi’ has been a part of Tripurainfo mega quiz team, for the past 4 years.
The special attractions of this year's mega quiz and the main host of the quiz program will be state renowned TV broadcaster and renowned Literary personalities like Subhrajit Bhattacharya, Engineer Subasish Kar and part-time different programme presenter of Agartala Doordarshan Saswati Bhattacharya. Everyone is invited. (Writer Jayanta Debnath is the Editor & MD of www.tripurainfo.com).
(Tripurainfo)