Now part of Ward No. 3 of Thakurbaba Municipality, this area previously fell under the former Bagnaha Village Development Committee (VDC). Later, under the country’s new federal structure, the former VDCs of Bagnaha, Neulapur, Shivapur, and Thakurdwara were merged to form Thakurbaba Municipality.

Geographic Location

This market area lies close to the famous Bardiya National Park. Since the park surrounds Thakurbaba Municipality on the east, west, and north, the natural environment here is remarkably peaceful and scenic.

Local Life and Activity

This area is home to a harmonious mix of the Tharu community and various other ethnic groups. The main occupations of local residents are agriculture and trade. Due to its proximity to Bardiya National Park, this area also holds good potential and growing activity in the tourism business.

Weekly Market and Its Features

A special weekly market (haat bazaar) is held in Bagnaha Bazaar every Thursday. Local farmers bring fully organic, fresh vegetables and fruits grown in their own fields to sell at this market. In addition, the market offers popular native goods, handicraft items, wooden “dokni” (traditional grinding vessels used for chutney), traditional pots for grinding chutney, “dilya” (containers for keeping fresh fish), and daily necessities at affordable prices, drawing large crowds on Thursdays.

Available Facilities

This market area has all the basic facilities needed for daily life, including local shops, hotels and restaurants, telecom services (Ncell/NTC), and the ward office of Thakurbaba Municipality Ward No. 3, along with other basic government and private services.

The Patwedi Peepal Tree and the History of Its Temple

Local elders estimate that the peepal tree at Patwedi is more than a century (100 years) old. According to them, this tree has looked the same from their childhood to the present day. In Tharu language and local culture, there is a tradition of worshipping nature. “Patwedi” (leaf and altar) refers to a sacred site or altar naturally surrounded by leaves, where worship of a deity is performed. There is a longstanding belief that worshipping at a shrine or temple built at the base of old trees protects the village from floods, epidemics, and crises through divine power. At one time, stone deities were worshipped beneath this peepal tree, and later a temple was built beside the same tree for these deities.

For a long time, this tree and temple have bound the local community together in a shared social and religious thread. Various worship ceremonies, festivals (such as Maghi and Ashtimki), and meetings in the village are usually held in the shade of this old resting place and temple.

The Story of Wild Elephants and the Peepal Tree

According to local elders, wild elephants from the nearby forest (which connects to Shuklaphanta National Park and the surrounding biological corridor) used to come at midnight to this historic peepal tree at the temple. Old stories are still told of how elders witnessed with their own eyes, as an extraordinary or supernatural occurrence, the elephants bowing at the base of the peepal tree or circling around it. Normally, when wild elephants enter a village, there is fear that they will destroy crops or cause damage to life and property. However, the behavior of the elephants that came to the Patwedi shrine was entirely different and calm. Without causing any damage to the village’s crops, the elephants would walk straight along the path to the site of the peepal tree. After worshipping or circling the tree, they would peacefully return to the forest along the same path they came.

Cultural Ties and Unwavering Belief

From the elders of Mircheya village to the youth and even young children, everyone holds deep faith in the deity of Patal Devi. There is also a strong religious warning, or fear, associated with this tree in local society. It is believed that if anyone, by mistake or intentionally, cuts even a small branch of this peepal tree, the deity Patal Devi will become angry. Villagers claim to have themselves experienced and witnessed in the past that if the deity becomes angry, an epidemic, famine, or other terrible calamity would strike the village, bringing suffering and hardship.

Religious Faith

Local residents regard the fact that even wild animals come to the temple and the peepal tree in this way as direct proof of divine power and the temple’s sanctity. Because of its proximity to the forest, the ancient movement of elephants and their connection to the temple continue to be recalled with pride to this day.

The Kohiyar Line and the History of Natural Resource Extraction

In Bardiya District, known as one of Nepal’s newer regions, a railway once ran from Danuwatal through what are now Wards 2, 3, and 5 of Thakurbaba Municipality and Wards 2 and 4 of Madhuwan Municipality, all the way to Bahraich Nishangada in India, historically operated by the then East India Company (the British) for the purpose of transporting sal timber and coal. As a symbolic reminder of this history, a railway carriage has been placed on the road in Neulapur village, Thakurbaba Municipality Ward 3, where the old railway track once ran, with the expectation of also boosting domestic tourism.

Arrival in Nepal

In 1923, during the Rana regime, British forest expert J.V. Collier came to Nepal as an advisor to the Department of Forests. He planned to clear forest along Bardiya’s Hulaki road for the construction of a railway line into India. He built a roughly 35-kilometer-long “railway route” through Madhuwan, Machad, Neulapur, and Ranipur up to Khairbhatti. The route on which this railway once ran is still locally known today as the “Collier Line.” Collier felled large sal and khair trees in this region and exported them to India.

For the construction of the railway and roads, he also excavated “Danabtal” and its surrounding area, extracting gravel, soil, and sand, which were also taken to India. Today, this place serves tourists as an open museum for observing nature and for forest and wildlife conservation. Bardiya is not just about wildlife and Tharu culture — it embodies a living history stretching from the past exploitation of nature (the Kohiyar Line) to the present day. The people of Bardiya are not destroyers of the forest; rather, for centuries, they have been the true guardians of this historical heritage and of Bardiya’s environment.

References

Firu Tharu: Chairperson of the Association of Tharu Guruwas, Thakurbaba Municipality.

Ghananarayan Shrestha: former mayor, Thakurbaba Municipality.