What am I looking at?
Bengaluru Pete is the area of Bengaluru city which was established by Kempegowda I (c.
The quick answer
Bengaluru Pete is the area of Bengaluru city which was established by Kempegowda I (c. 1510–1570) in 1537 with roads laid out in the cardinal directions, and entrance gates at the end of each road. Kempegowda also termed the Pete he built as his "gandu bhoomi" or "Land of Heroes". Pete (Kannada: Market centre) forms a well–defined body of markets which were associated with various trades and professions of the populace in the locality markets and given the names of trades pursued in such markets. The well known markets are the Tharagupete–market for grains, the Balepete – for Bangles and musical instruments, the Chikkapete and the Nagarthpete for textile trade, the Ballapurpete and the Ganigarapete market where oil is extracted by people of the Ganiga community, the Tigalarapete–flower market of gardeners, the Cubbonpete – textile manufacture by people of the Devanga community.
How it came to be
The Bengaluru Pete, established in 1537 around the Mud Fort, built by Kempe Gowda I as the nucleus, with an area of 2.24 square kilometres (1 mi2), has expanded to the present sprawling city of 741 square kilometres (286 mi2) embracing a multi ethnic population of 5.7 million; as per Census of India 2001, the present population is reported as 6.6 million (2007) and is thus known by the epithet "the Boom city". The other nicknames of the city also reflect the growth direction of the city, such as the Silicon Valley of India, the "Fashion Capital of India," and "The Pub City of India."
The detail most people miss
The old Pete, structured in the contemporary style of deep networks of crowded streets, richly represented the multi cultural identity, social history, and economic geography of the times which are considered as a hallmark in the planning and design of any urban agglomerate. The place has left its mark on literature with novels like Riddle of the Seventh Stone being set in this part of Bengaluru. These attributes have been further accentuated in the present day Bangalore city. It is now the third largest metropolis in India, the largest city in Karnataka state and the 28th largest city in the world.
Why it still matters
Even though historically Bengaluru is chronicled to the period of 900 AD, but with confirmed history of the Bengaluru Pete traced to 1537, when Kempe Gowda I (pictured), a Chieftain of the Vijayanagara Empire, widely held as the founder of modern Bangalore, built a mud fort and established the area around it as his province. He was the great-grandson of Jaya Gowda who established the Yelahankanada Prabhu clan, in 1418 AD, and whose principality was in Yelahanka, north of the present day Bangalore.
