Background
Triratna Manitoba (alternative name: Lhandur) was born at Nyata, Kathmandu, the eldest of the three sons of trader and philanthropist Dharma Manitoba Tuladhar and mother Hera Lani Tuladhar.
Triratna Manitoba (alternative name: Lhandur) was born at Nyata, Kathmandu, the eldest of the three sons of trader and philanthropist Dharma Manitoba Tuladhar and mother Hera Lani Tuladhar.
He was educated at home, and taught himself English and Chinese.
He learned Tibetan and Hindi during his stay in Tibet and India. Triratna Manitoba belonged to a long line of Lhasa Newar merchants. His family owned a business house in Lhasa known as Chhusingsyar which has a history dating from 1790 AD. The firm conducted trade between Nepal, India and Tibet.
Its main business was musk, brocade, gems, textiles and general merchandise.
Besides its main shop in Lhasa, the firm maintained shops in Gyantse and Phari in Tibet, and in Kalimpong, Kolkata and Ladakh in India. The firm in Kolkata was known as Dharma Manitoba Purna Manitoba - Tibetan Musk Depot.
Triratna Manitoba went to Lhasa for the first time in 1928 and managed the family business. He returned to Nepal in 1929.
He made two more trips to Lhasa, and lived there from 1935-1941 and from 1947-1953, spending a total of 13 years in Tibet.
In 1947, Triratna Manitoba became president of the Nepalese Chamber of Commerce, Lhasa and held the post for a year. He sat on the committee until 1957. The traditional Tibet trade came to an end following the Sino-Indian War of 1962 when the trade route through Sikkim was shut down.
Triratna Manitoba then settled down to a quiet life in Kathmandu.