From Her Father's Shop in Unit-1 Market, She Witnessed How Unplanned Urbanisation Replaced Street Vendors and Community Markets with Modern Infrastructure — Now She Archives Them on Canvas.

Bhubaneswar, the Temple City of India, is changing rapidly. And no one has documented this change more closely than young artist Satyabhama Majhi.

Majhi has been closely monitoring the heart of the city — Unit-1 Haat, Market Building, Rajmahal Flyover and the Bapuji Nagar stretch. Her research focuses on how random, unplanned urbanisation has completely transformed the character of these iconic public spaces.

Once upon a time, this entire stretch was the lifeline of Bhubaneswar. The areas were covered with vibrant street vendors selling vegetables, fruits, flowers, and daily household instruments. The people of Bhubaneswar were totally dependent on Unit-1 Market, Market Building and Bapuji Nagar for their everyday needs. It was not just a market, it was a community space full of life, bargaining, colours and human connections.

But day by day, the scene has changed. The same areas are now decorated with modern infrastructure, shopping complexes, branded stores and new amenities. The street vendors have slowly disappeared, displaced by development.

For Satyabhama, this transformation is personal. Her father has a shop in Unit-1 Market, so she grew up watching this change from close quarters. She closely observed how the old soul of the city was fading away.

To preserve the memory, she started photographing the remaining vendors, the old shopfronts, and the everyday hustle. These photographs became her archive.

Finally, she decided to capture all the fading memories of the city in a single canvas. Her upcoming painting series is not just art — it is a visual documentation of Bhubaneswar's urban memory, a tribute to the street vendors who built the city's economy, and a question on what we are losing in the name of development.

Through her work, Satyabhama Majhi asks the city to pause and remember its roots before they are completely erased.