Rajbiraj

The city is part of the Mithila region which was an ancient kingdom which rose to prominence under King Janaka (c. 8th-7th centuries BCE).[12][13] The city is historical twin city of Janakpur also known to be a seat of Kushadhwaja the brother of King Janka whose 3 daughters Mandavi, Urmila and Shrutakirti were married to Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna. Kushadhwaja later ruled the area through his ministers and moved to Sankadya.[14] During the Medieval Period around 520 CE,[15] King Salahesh reigned over Mithila region and made his capital near Lahan,[16][17] 35 km west to Rajbiraj. The most powerful and prominent kingdom, Karnat dynasty comes into power and ruled Mithila (also known as Tirhut) from 11th century to early 14th century. The fifth King of karnat dynasty, Shaktisingh Dev[18] (r. 1285 to 1295 CE) was travelled through this region after transferring his supremacy to his younger son Harisimhadeva and built the famous and ancient Chinnamasta Bhagawati Mandir as well as his fort nearby the temple, which is known as Gadhi Gaachhi locally.[19] After the fall of Karnat dynasty, the Sena dynasty which was entered in Mithila, through Rupnagar from Bengal around early 13th century started ruling this region from 15th century to 18th century.[10] The Rajdevi Temple was rebuilt by Sena king in early 14th century[19] and also known to be family temple of Kushadhwaja. Within the periphery of Rajbiraj there were small shrines dedicated to Mandavi, Urmila and Shrutakirti but have lost with time.[14]

After the Treaty of Sugauli in 1816 the region become part of Kingdom of Nepal. Rajbiraj is one of the few cities given the status of municipality when Nepal's monarchy was restored in the 1950s. The first city of Nepal to be urban planned is rajbiraj.[3] The Nepal government plans to develop it as a model city.[20] Chief Engineer and Architect Dilli Jang Thapa designed Rajbiraj based on Indian city Jaipur.[21][22] The city is now recognized as an educational capital of Eastern Nepal with various schools and colleges opening.

Rajbiraj is one of the cities in Nepal that is connected by the East West Highway about 10 kilometres (6 mi) to the north and 17 kilometres (11 mi) to the east also known as Hulaki Rajmarg. It is well connected to other Nepalese cities by National Highway and Sub Highway. Buses are an important mode of intercity passenger travel. Besides that, electric rickshaws and microvans are another important means of traveling in local areas.

Rajbiraj has one of the oldest airfields of Nepal, named as the Rajbiraj Airport (IATA: RJB, ICAO: VNRB) which was inaugurated by the then transportation minister Ganesh Man Singh in 1959. After witnessing almost three decades of halt, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal carried out a series of vigorous renovation (worth Rs. 303 million) of the airport in the 1990s but the flights again had to be stopped in 2007. Shree Airlines 50-seater CRJ-200 was tested on 23 May 2018 with Captain DR Niroula of Shree's safety department along with other instructor pilots — Captain Prajwol Adhikari, Rajesh Shrestha.[26] The halted flights of the airport were subsequently resumed from first 24 June 2018.[27][28] As of February 2020, Buddha air aims to run daily flights in between Rajbiraj and Kathmandu.[29]

The best way of getting around the city is by using cycle rickshaws and electric rickshaws. There are also auto rickshaw running short distances but they don't operate in the main market area.

The females are usually seen in the salwaar kameez and women are seen in the sarees. Males usually wear western garments like pants, shirts and T-shirts, rather than the traditional dhoti and kurtas, although males often wear traditional dress during Puja and festivals.[33][34][35] Females are also gradually taking up more and more Western wear, with variety of jeans in the streets. There are fewer girls seen wearing T-skirts and Miniskirts predominating in the private schools, colleges and campuses. Younger females also seen wearing Lehenga in special occasion like wedding ceremony and festivals.

Rajdevi Temple is a historic pre 14th century Hindu temple located on the east of the city and is one of the most prominent landmarks of the city. It is dedicated to the deity Rajdevi. The temple is a significant symbol for Hindus and the present structure was built between 1990.[36] There are other Hindu temples in the city like Bhagwati Temple, Bageshwari Temple, Shree Radha Krishna Temple, Baishnavi Kali Mandir, Thangachi Mandir, Chitragupta Mandir where devotees come to offer prayer every day.[37]

There is a Noori Jaama Masjid in the eastern central part of the town where Muslims congregate to perform Salat al-Jumu'ah.[38]

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  Rajdevi Temple
• 
  Shree Radha Krishna Temple
• 
  Baishnawi Kali Mandir

Aerial view of Rajbiraj in 1990 (left) and Portrait of chief engineer Dilli Jang Thapa (right)

The city was planned after the then headquarter of Saptari district Hanumannagar, which was heavily affected by the Saptakoshi river floods.[39] In 1938–39, Baber Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, then head of the eastern command and his representative then Governor (Badahakim) Prakasha Shamser JB Rana justifies and approved Rajbiraj as the headquarter of Saptari district.[40][41] Rajbiraj city was systematically designed based on the Indian city Jaipur by then chief architect and engineer Dilli Jung Thapa in 60 Bigha of land.[42] There was dense jungle where fox roared before the proper inhabited took place. In 1941, the city gained the status of the headquarter of Saptari district and fully operational for inhabitant. Initially, the city was planned in 60 bigha of land but later 10 bigha of land was added to northern side for government office (Kachahari line) and 8 bigha of land in southern side was added to the city for the officials resident area (Swarna tol) making it in total 78 bigha of land.[40] A small alley behind each of the four houses, Chauk square at the junction of main road and auxiliary road, grocery stores, vegetable market lines and government office buildings have been arranged in proper manner making it first planned city of Nepal.[43][44]

Major religious celebrations include the major Hindu festivals Vijaya Dashami, Dipawali, Chhath, Holi, Sama Chakeva and Vishwakarma Puja. The Chhath and Holi is heavily celebrated with a carnival-like atmosphere. The locals people take pride in the way these festivals are celebrated.[45][46]

The staple diet of the region is rice, roti, achar, chatni, dal, saag, paneer, maachh,[47] mutton and curry. On the festive occasions, people prepare a number of fried items of vegetables, locally known as Tarua as well as other special items.[48] The local Maithili cuisine comprises a broad repertoire of rice, wheat, fish and meat dishes and the skilled use of various spices. The popular dishes includes Kadhi bari, Palak paneer, Khichdi, Aloo mutter, Dum Aloo, Mutton/Chicken Biryani and the desserts Khaja, Jalebi, Malpua, Rabri, Kheer, Thekua, Laddu and Gulab Jamun.

The commons dishes of the city is influenced with Maithil cuisine, Nepalese cuisine and Indian cuisine. Bagiya, Murhee ke laai (English: Puffed rice sweet balls), litti are also popular among people.[49][50] Street foods such as Samosa, Chaat, Panipuri, Chow mein, Momo, Omelette and Sekuwa are favourite among Rajbirajians.[51]

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  Kadhi bari
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  Varieties of Tarua
• 
  Varieties of Tarua and papad

The most commonly and widely speaking language of the city is Maithili.[52][53][54][55][56] After Maithili, Nepali is also well understood and widely used for business and administrative purposes.[24] Hindi is widely used by people from madhesh as a link language along with Marwari people and migrant workers from India.[57] Historically, Rajbiraj was considered one of the great center of Mithila culture.[58][59][60]