The Jacaranda Flower Bloom Has Painted Kathmandu a Lovely Shade of Blue

Screenshot from Instagram user @aannda's account.

At the moment, Kathmandu looks like a city in bridal make-up, thanks to the blue jacaranda in full bloom. But with the spring season coming to an end, it’s your last chance to see the flowers in Nepal's capital city.

Fortunately, Kathmanduites never get tired of sharing the pictures of their beautiful city on social media.

#Jacaranda #summer #kathmandu pic.twitter.com/oneNYxYuRp

— anecdote (@cabeerazzzz) May 9, 2016

Kathmandu's @Durbarmargh today; rarely does the blvd look as gorgeous as it does when its #jacaranda are in bloom. pic.twitter.com/5ezt4WA66s

— Kashish Das Shrestha (@kashishds) April 23, 2016

अलिकति मात्रै कम धुलो र धुवा हुँदो हो त Jacaranda अझ कति मुस्कुराउँदो हो काठमाडौं मा #Jacaranda #Kathmandu #Nepal pic.twitter.com/GWJI3ykLhi

— Gopal Panta (@GopalPanta) May 1, 2016

Had there been a little less dust and smoke, how much more the jacaranda would smile in Kathmandu.

Mostly two types of jacaranda are found in Nepal – Jacaranda mimosifolia and Jacaranda ovalifolia.

@lochangyawali Most literature state the ones found in Nepal are Jacaranda mimosifolia & Jacaranda ovalifolia. But there are many varieties.

— mukum (@mukum3) April 29, 2016

Have a look at some more beautiful pictures of the jacaranda in full bloom:

ल्याम्पोष्ट मुनि ज्याकराण्डा :) pic.twitter.com/yG5mOBYndB

— **shovas** (@SharmaShova) May 3, 2016

Jacaranda under the lamp post.

Summer, Kathmandu and Jacaranda tree in full bloom, quite intoxicating. pic.twitter.com/SdZKHp4TgX

— rashmi lohani (@RashmiLKhanal) April 18, 2016

Many Nepalese people mistakenly refer to the jacaranda as “shirish”:

शिरीषको फूल फुलिसक्यो, मन फुलेको छैन …#Kathmandu #Summer #Jacaranda @kathmanducity pic.twitter.com/lbYg8h8zuc

— Nayan P. Sindhuliya (@npokhrel) 7 de mayo de 2013

Shirish flowers have already bloomed, [my] heart hasn’t bloomed.

The longstanding confusion between jacaranda and shirish among the Nepalese is thanks to a famous novel called “Shirish ko Phool” (Flower of Shirish) written by renowned Nepali writer Parijat.

Folks, hope u know Jacaranda & Shirish (Albizia sps) r diff plants.
Kathmandu media, don't write Jacaranda as Shirish this time.#keshref

— .:¤¤:keshuvko:¤¤:. (@keshuvko) April 17, 2016

On his blog, Kabi Raj Khatiwada explores the history of how this case of mistaken identity came about:

One of the finest book ever written in Nepali literature….Shirish Ko Phool… and one of my personal favorite…. is able to change the identity of the tree…. Seems crazy but the fact is true…… Shiris Ko Phool is a novel written by prominent Nepali writer Parijat (Bishnu Kumari Waiwa) and also published in English language as “The Blue Mimosa”.
While doing translation… I don’t know why… did they took that name… the blue mimosa… and the cover page image… but this was enough to give the false identify of a beautiful tree of Kathmandu.

Slowly but surely, Kathmanduites are now finding out the difference and realising that they are jacaranda trees.

@luni_ba हुँदाखाँदाको शिरिषको फूल ज्याकराण्डा निस्कियो याँ भन्दा ठूलो भ्रम के हुन्छ??😉😉😉

— **shovas** (@SharmaShova) April 23, 2016

The Shirish flowers turned out to be jacaranda. What could be more misleading than this?

While Kathmandu is blue and beautiful with jacaranda bloom, the southern plains of the country are awash in a pleasing red color because of the blooming gulmohar trees planted along the roadside.

पानी परेपछि खुलेको आकाशमा गुलमोहर फुलेर मनमोहक बनेको छ वातावरण । बस् गर्मीले सताउने भयो भन्ने डरमात्र छ। pic.twitter.com/Nelv2EZYMa

— Indra Dhoj Kshetri (@indradhoj) May 5, 2016