I really love buildings, especially those that are especially historical, unusual and atmospheric, and I believe The Talatal Ghar - Kareng Ghar meets all three of these quite easily. It's historical because it's over 200 year old and was a palace of the royal family. It's atmospheric due to its unusual 3 -4 structure, being half above and half underground, plus all those secret passages and tunnels add to the mysterious side of it. The unusual thing, and the trivia question from the title concerns the material it was built with, or more precisely, what was used to hold the bricks together? I won't tell you yet, as it is a fun thing to research. I will say I was shocked and impressed.
I just read that it was made from a cement made from mixing a sticky type of rice with hens egg. Hens Eggs and rice use to hold together Bricks! Strange but Interesting. I have never heard of anything like this before.
Like you said, the Talatal Ghar - Kareng Ghar is an amazing architectural work. The Talatal Ghar itself is a testament of the unique Tai Ahom architectural style. The Talatal Ghar and the Kareng Ghar comprise the the largest of all the Tai Ahom monuments. What I love about it is that it has an underground secret tunnel and even three floors below ground level. These were actually routes used back in the war to escape. The brick mixture is called the Bora Chaul, which is an ingenious composition made from rice and eggs of hen to stick the bricks together. It's a pretty nifty little trivia like you said, which somehow works for the mystery of the Talatal Ghar. Sadly, most of this place has been sealed off and closed from visitors. Unfortunately as well, the Kareng Ghar is made out of mostly wood which has been destroyed over time. But it still is a majestic place to visit because of its history. Nowadays, visitors can only see the ground floor, first, second and third floors on the Kareng Ghar.
I have no idea what it was made of, but I have been to both Talatal Ghar and Kareng Ghar and must say they are some amazing architecture. It's unfortunate most people outside the region are not even aware of these and many other historical architectural examples from the region. If you ever visit Assam, I highly recommend to add Sivasagar to the list of your destinations to visit just to get a glimpse of the Ahom history.
