Imphal, June 3: Manipur’s royal boat was opened to the public at the state museum for the first time this afternoon. Art and culture minister Moirangthem Nara Singh inaugurated the boat, Hiyang Hiren, at a simple function, attended by Maharajkumari Binodini Devi, a member of the royal family. The 78-feet-long and four-feet-thick boat had been first inaugurated by Maharaja Churachand with a royal boat race on October 3, 1933. The last royal boat race organised in honour of the then Prime Ministers of India and Burma (now Myanmar) — Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and U Nu — who met here on April 14, 1952.
According to the curator of the museum, Sobita Devi, the boat was made from the wood of a giant tree cut down in Kamson village in Senapati district. It is said that 600 people were required to cut the khugee tree (local name) and it took three years to construct the boat. It is also said that the search for the right tree continued for generations.
The curator said the royal boat was discarded as a valueless object when Manipur was merged with the Indian Union in 1949. The decorated colours faded and even the heads were detached.
The state museum shifted the boat from the palace compound to the museum complex on October 2, 1986. It took artisans three years to repair and renovate the Hiyang Hiren. The Indian Museum, Calcutta, provided financial and technical assistance to renovate the boat.