Bhubaneswar, April 12: A square named after a roadside dhaba, and another after a theatre. Bhubaneswar’s history in names throws up some curious facts.

Originally the city had local colonies or units within the planned area of 16.48sqkm. After that, the new growth pockets were developed and named Bapuji Nagar, Buddha Nagar, Ashok Nagar and Gautam Nagar. Bapuji Nagar was the first residential colony to be built in 1957 outside the plan area.

“All the names were derived from history perhaps to remember the contributions of great souls. But later, many of the names came with roadside landmarks. Many of the original landmarks no longer exist,” said Arabinda Mohanty, a leading paediatrician.

While the square near Saheed Nagar was named Rupali after a roadside dhaba, the station square took its name from a restaurant that probably brought the samosa here. The eatery was the brainchild of a Delhi-based entrepreneur who came here to try his luck after the state capital was shifted from Cuttack.

Rajmahal Square was named after a hotel promoted by Rajkishore Sahu, who built the first hotel in the city. The hotel had a restaurant on the ground floor and the first floor was a lodge with several rooms.

“Naming the square after Rajmahal Hotel has a significance, as its proprietor had the foresight to set up a hotel-cum-restaurant in those early days. I have seen the area where many big hotels such as Mayfair, Trident, Swosti Premium came much later during the late 1980s,” said Sudhanshu Bhusan Mishra, retired chief secretary.

Sishu Bhavan Square was named after a hospital for children, while the Rabi Talkies and Kalpana squares were named after two cinema halls. In the 1980s, Sriya Square came into existence after the development of three cinema halls near a square on Janpath — Sriya, Swati and Stuti.

Jharapada was originally on the outskirts of the city. The locality is now within the city limits.

Though a low-lying area, the land originally had several streams (jhara). The sewerage board recently found this out when they found streams oozing out while working on laying the sewage pipeline in that area.

Famous painter and art historian Dinanath Pathy, however, said that apart from some contributors to the city’s growth, many names are simply references to landmarks. He said they should be renamed after the people who contributed immensely to the city’s progress.