Salhesh Phulbari
Also known as: सलहेस फुलबारी · Salahesh Fulbari · Salhesh garden · King Salhesh
Raja Salhesh is the great folk hero of Mithila — a warrior-king, protector and lover whose ballads are sung across the Maithili-speaking plains of Nepal and India. He is especially honoured by Dalit communities, and small Salhesh shrines (gahwar) with clay horses and figures stand in villages across the region.
The garden
Salhesh Phulbari, in Lahan, is said to be the garden where Salhesh met his beloved, Malini, the flower-girl. Today it is a patch of old trees of about eight hectares, noted by botanists for its plant diversity in an otherwise farmed landscape.
The New Year bloom
The garden's fame rests on one flower. An orchid, Dendrobium aphyllum, growing on a haram tree in the middle of the grove, is believed to open its garland-like flowers only on the eve and first morning of Baisakh, the Nepali New Year. The bloom is read as a sign of the love between Salhesh and Malini, and a large fair gathers to witness it, with pilgrims arriving from across the Madhesh and from Bihar.
Jur Sital
The fair coincides with Jur Sital, the Maithil New Year, when people sprinkle water on each other and on trees to cool them for the hot season, and eat food cooked the day before.