P Ballahkristnah's description, 1853 Writing on 7 April 1853, P Ballahkristnah, a Hindu scholar of the Wesleyan Educational Institution, Bangalore, provides a description of the Bangalore Petah. Bangalore is a table-land, offering Europeans travelers from Madras, much relief with the cooler climate. Fruits, vegetables, grains of many varieties grew abundantly. The Bangalore pettah is fully surrounded by tanks, which are artificial lakes used to supply water to the population of the petah. From the outskirts, the Petah looked like it had been recently destroyed by fire and fully de-populated, because of its bare mud walls. However, entering the gates, one finds a bustling city with huge crowds and busy market place. The lanes were narrow, covered with mud and dirt. Drains had been constructed by the Mysore Government at public expense, however, they were badly maintained and seeing bandicoots, rats, carcasses of dead dogs and stagnant water was common. The houses were like dungeons or dark cellars, without any light or ventilation. Singing mosquitoes, poisonous scorpions were common in these native houses. Bargaining was common in the shops, with the vendors quoting different prices for the goods according to how rich or poor the customer looked. Drunkenness was also common in the Bangalore Petah, across all classes of people.
Walker and Walker's account, 1855 According to the
Gazetteer of Southern India (1855), the Bangalore Petah is located south west of the
Bangalore Cantonment at a distance of 1 mile. The population of the petah was 41664. The petah was surrounded by a mud wall and a dry moat which was overgrown with the thorny
Mimosa saponaria (sekakai) plant. An old hedge measuring 80 yard across, which was a major worry during the British
Siege of Bangalore, 1792, had been recently cleared off and the ground was built upon. The houses in the Bangalore Petah were flat roofed and the streets were open and had good drainage. The bazaars and the town appeared prosperous. There were two tanks one at the North and the other large one 2 miles to the south, which supplied water. The tank at the south had been destroyed by
Tipu Sultan, and had been repaired by the British after his fall. Wells around the town, provided good supply of water to the petah. There was a free civil hospital, with an exclusive section for the
Brahmins. There was also a mental asylum, a lepers' asylum, and a poor house, and a jail was in the process of being built.
Thomas Hodson's account, 1856 Thomas Hodson, in 1856, describes Bangalore as consisting of two parts - the
Cantonment where the soldiers lived and
Tamil was primarily spoken, and the Old Town or the native town (Bangalore Pete) where
Canarese was the main language. In both parts a total of 130,000 Indians lived. Further he describes the shops of the Bangalore petah, with mud being used for the walls and the floor, wooden pillars and clay used for flat roofs. There were no windows or any protection from the dust, with a mat from the rooftop for shade. At night, the shops were secured by wooden shutters. The shop-keeper sat on the floor of the shop, or on one of the lower shelves. The traders were cloth merchants, grocers, gold smiths, etc. The shops sold sugarcane, coconut, bananas, rice, sweets which were hung on a string and various grains which were kept in baskets with were smeared with cow-dung. Water carriers carrying water was a common site. There were thousands of monkeys which created mischief, but were unharmed by the natives due to their religious beliefs. File:Fort and Pettah of Bangalore (p.139, 1849) - Copy.jpg|Fort and Pettah of Bangalore (p. 139, 1849) File:A Bazar, or Shop, in One of the Principal Streets of Bangalore (p.97, 1856) - Copy.jpg|A Bazar, or Shop, in One of the Principal Streets of Bangalore (p. 97, 1856) File:The Dodda Pet, Bangalore (Caine, 1891, p.523) - Copy.jpg|The Dodda Pet, Bangalore (Caine, 1891, p. 523)
Sarah Sanderson's account, 1858 and 1859 (1859) ,
Avenue Road,
Bangalore, (2016) Writing on 24 November 1858, Sarah Sanderson (wife of Rev.
Daniel Sanderson), describes the Wesleyan Mission School and Chapel in a Pariah village near the Bangalore Petah. The article also carried a sketch of the same, by
Thomas Hodson. This school had some 30 children, 22 boys and 8 girls. They were taught by John a native catechist. Divine services were held on Sundays in
Canarese at 7:30AM. The congregation consisted of 8-10 men and 25-30 children, and many others listening from outside the door. However, most seemed to attend out of curiosity of seeing the European ladies and men. The church services commenced by ringing the bell. Further, she describes the social scorn and humiliation suffered by the Pariah community, such as not being allowed to even walk in the street of the high caste people, untouchability practiced for the fear of pollution by lower castes. However, the Europeans readily employed servants from the Pariah communities and their sent to Mission schools, brightening their employment prospects. ==Present urban status==