Majestic still remains a significant multi-modal public transport hub and the bylanes of Avenue Road and Chickpet buzz with commercial activities. File photo
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
As Bengaluru expands without an end and traffic congestion is a big deterrent for people to travel long distances, the city has become truly multi-nodal. Gone are the days when residents used to head to Majestic for shopping, to catch a film on K.G. Road, or to catch a bus to head out of the city.
The beginning
The pete area — what is today commonly referred to as Majestic — is the place where Bengaluru began 488 years ago in 1537 and it used to be the nerve centre of the city until recently. But now it is only a pale shadow of its former self.
Vestiges of the mud fort and a watery trench around to protect it from invaders built by Kempe Gowda remain, and the pete within the old fort retains its character even today.
What is considered the pete is bound by Binny Mills to the west, Halasuru Gate Police station to the east, K.R. Market to the south, and Mysore Bank Circle to the north. Avenue Road along the north-south axis and another road across the east-west axis cut through the pete.
Multiple trades
A view of Chickpet
Avenue Road, a bustling market today, was then the main thoroughfare of Bengaluru, through which all the royal processions passed through. The bylanes were organised into several petes depending on the trade, vocation, or the community in that area — like Akkipete, Balepete, Ganigarapete, Kumbarapete, Taragupete, Tigalarapete, etc.
Some of these pockets continue to trade in these items to this day. For instance, Nagarathpeteis even today dominated by jewellery shops.
“In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached the shores of Kerala, opening up trade with the west. These European traders also wanted to establish trade with the Coromandel coast on the east. But the sea route was circuitous, so they chose the land route. Interestingly, all the major trade routes between the west and east coasts of the peninsula pass through this region, which is why Kempe Gowda selected this place to build his capital Bengaluru,” explains historian S.K. Aruni, in his book Bengaluru Parampare.
Many temples of the pete also remain: the Dharmaraya Swamy temple on S.P. Road that hosts the city’s premier festival of Karaga; the Kote Venkataramana temple near K.R. Market, and the Anjaneya temple in Mysore Bank Circle all date back to the beginnings of Bengaluru or much earlier. The temple of Annamma, considered to be the grama devete (village deity) of Bengaluru, is also in Majestic. The Rice Memorial church on Avenue Road, the Tawakkal Mastan dargah in Akkipete, the Ibrahim Shah mosque, and the Bahadur Shah dargah, built in memoriam of the two killedars (commandants) of Bengaluru, a mark of the wars for Bengaluru, shows how the pete became more cosmopolitan over the centuries.
City and its lake
It is on the Dharmambudhi Kere, said to be built by Kempe Gowda, that the Majestic bus stand is located today. The life cycle of this kere itself tells the story of the pete and the expansion of the city. The water from this lake served as a drinking water source for the pete for centuries. However, as the city grew and was hit by the plague in the late 19th century, piped water was brought to the pete from Thippagondanahalli, sanitation habits changed, and the role of the lake declined. It dried up and was used as space for congregations and theatre troupes to pitch tents, before it was converted into a public bus transport hub.
The plague eventually forced the administration to expand the city further and build the planned layouts of Chamarajpet and Malleswaram. Since then, the pete has been losing its role as the prima donna of the big Bengaluru opera.
Still the hub
But Majestic still remains a significant multi-modal public transport hub. A few single-screen theatres remain and the old pete area remains a wholesale market for various goods.
Majestic still remains a significant multi-modal public transport hub and the bylanes of Avenue Road and Chickpet buzz with commercial activities. File photo
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu
K.R. Market continues to be the nerve centre for the city’s vegetables, fruits, and flowers supply. The city’s road network is even today modelled on the hub-and-spoke model, with the pete area being the hub. Though the two ring roads are designed as a bypass to the pete area, the activity hasn’t reduced. The bylanes of Avenue Road and Chickpet buzz with commercial activities and are swarmed by so many people that it still continues to be tough to even walk.
Published – March 10, 2025 07:57 am IST
