The name Bohri Ali was given to Raviwar Peth in Pune by Punekars somewhere in the mid 20th century. This name was derived from the two words ‘Bohra’ and ‘Alley’. The Bohras or the ‘Dawoodi Bohras’ as they’re popularly known were the inhabitants of Raviwar Peth since the 18th century when The Peshwas rehabilitated them in Pune.
The word ‘Bohra or Vohra’ is derived from the Gujarathi word ‘Vepaar’ which basically means business. In short, they were known as the business community and to noone’s surprise, soon Raviwar Peth was a sea of flourishing businesses all run by Bohras who had settled there with shops on the ground floor and their apartments above.
As Pune entered the 20th century ruled by the British, many of these shops were now well-established firms in their respective fields. Many of the shops had new owners as some of the earlier inhabitants moved out or migrated to other places. The market was now a confluence of a number of communities ranging from the Bohras, native Marathas, Jains, Marwaris, Gujarathis, other sects of the Muslim community and others who started speaking the language of business. All these shops and businesses made sure that Raviwar Peth and the adjoining Nana Peth, Budhwar Peth etc were a vibrant market that truly represented what the Cosmopolitan Pune stood for. They had earned a name by doing business the honest way.
Sometime during this period, Raviwar Peth started being fondly known as ‘Bohri Alley’ with the inhabitants giving this street and by lanes a distinct culture and environment of brotherhood and unity. The vibrant and cultural confluence ensured that every festival and event celebrated by different communities was not only a chance to do more business in the area but also fostered the unity, brotherhood and cultural exchanges with which this market was built. Inadvertently, festivals such as Eid, Ganesh Festival, Diwali, Dassera were celebrated with much ado. Streets would be filled with families doing their festive shopping during the days leading upto the festivals and shops would be open from early morning to late nights.
As educated newer generations joined these already established family businesses, they injected fresh blood and made changes to the way things were done. Soon, the numerous industries coming up in Pune would need appropriate suppliers and quality assurance. ‘Bohri Ali’ as the name was shortened to, was the ideal place for them.
Today, most of these old suppliers in Bohri Ali are reputed vendors for companies such as Tata, Bajaj Auto, Cummins, Swedish companies like Sandwik, Atlas Copco, Forbes Marshall holding dealerships in every major company you can think of ranging from Bosch, Asian Paints, Esdee, Pilot, Henkel, TVS fasteners, JCB, Fevicol, Marpol, Stanley, Mitutoyo, SKF, Rexello and many many more.
Bohri Ali is the chief supplier to the entire industrial belt of Bhosari MIDC, Chakan MIDC with a few of the firms having a depot or outlet at a location in Bhosari or Chakan. These firms also cater to consumer markets such as Residential supplies, Festivals supplies across Maharashtra, Artists, Schools, Automobile Garages etc and of course all the industries. The range of products extend from Hardware to Paints to Paper to Tools to Industrial Trolleys to Hobby products to Interior Decorations to everything you need whether you are a housewife or a student or a businessman or an engineer or just looking to repair something in your house.
“Through BohriAli.com we will bring these vendors together and provide you with a place to shop for everything you need under one roof at BohriAli.com and bring with that the amazing benefits of e-commerce shopping to the confines of your offices and homes.”
