The state celebrated the "Maha Raas" festival in Tripura on Tuesday. The festival is celebrated every year on the full moon night of "Kartik Purnima" to mark the love life of Lord Krishna. Girls dressed in traditional dresses thronged local temples to pray.

The festival dates back to more than 100 years when the queen of the Manikya dynasty, brought the idol of Radha-Krishna to Tripura and established a Radhamadhav temple here. In Tripura the festival gets a special charm as the non Hindus including the tribal population also participate in the festivity.
Uttam Sinha, whose sister is also participating in the dance said the "Maha Rass" is one of the most
important festivals of the Manipuri´s that being celebrated here for more than a century. In today
celebration only young girls below the age of 12 years are participating and hence Tina Sinha, a visitor from Manipur, said the festival is a historical festival of the Manipuries. Today it is a common platform to bring together people from different communities. "People of all communities
gather here to celebrate the Radha Govindas "raas" and I think it is a common platform to forget our differences and love each other and get united," It shows the love of the community towards other communities," she said.

Date:Nov 16, 2005