Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya’s salvage activities revitalize vanishing but valuable cultural traditions. To achieve this objective Sangrahalaya is adding ‘Kangla Gate’ at entrance of open-air exhibition Tribal Habitat. A group 15 traditional artisans from Manipur under the leadership of Ibomcha Meitei are making the traditional yet grand Kangla Gate in IGRMS.
'Kangla' was the ancient capital of Manipur from the ancient times down to the year 1891 AD. It is situated on the western bank of the Imphal River. In ancient times, 'Kangla' was the royal palace since the reign of Pakhangba who ascended the throne in 33 AD, according to "Cheitharol Kumbaba", the royal Chronicle of Manipur.
'Kangla' is not only the seat of political power but also a holy place for religious worship and ceremonies. There are a number of ancient treaties/manuscripts especially ‘Sakoklamlen’ ‘Chinglon laihui’, ‘Nunglon’ etc, which lay down the rules for the construction, worship, ceremonies relating to 'Kangla'.
The undergoing construction of the ‘Kangla Gate’ is not replicating the main gate of Kangla Fort and many other such gates popularly known as Kangla Gate in Manipur eg Gate of INA Museum. The traditional artisans from Manipur has taken inspiration from various Kangla Gates and working towards constructing the Gate with key historical, social, architectural, traditional and religious elements of Manipur. The gate has two towers of with base size of 196 sqft approx and distance between both the towers is 16 ft approx. The base of the towers is of brick and concrete, whereas the towers are of wood.