my friend david in melbourne will love this.some pictures of the rickshaw and its pullers.three of them were taken in matheran and one recently in kolkata.you cannot take your car up the hill to reach this beautiful hillstation. it is not allowed. the only convenient way of reaching the top is by rickshaw or on horseback. otherwise you have to slug it out.it is a tough pull for the rickshawwallahs.one of them pulling from the front and two pushing from the rear. and they charge you about rs 500 for the to and fro ride,half an hour each way. the ride up is very fast to keep up the momentum.the ride downhill is slow with intermittent braking.
during my latest visit to kolkata,i did see a lot of rickshaws on the road but surprisingly very few with passengers. rather an unusual scene. has buddhababu converted the commoners of kolkata or are they getting prepared for the days when no handpulled rickshaws will be around?
4 comments:
When i was in Delhi i have travelled once in rickshaw and i really use to pity those rickshawwallahs.But this hand pulled rickshaws seems to be still more difficult for them.
I have never travelled in a hand-pulled rickshaw in India, but I have done so occasionally in Toronto. It's quite the novelty here with people lining up to take a small ride around Toronto. Most of the pullers are young, very fit and some are even women...most do it because it's their way of staying fit, so we don't feel like we are exploiting them, also, it's not a cheap ride! ;)
hi hema
one can argue it both ways.if as lr says they are paid well,and they are doing it out of their own volition,we should not suffer from any pangs of conscience.
hi lr
it was interesting to read about hand pulled rickshaws in toronto and even women pullers.now in kolkata some of the younger pullers have switched over to cycle rickshaws.when i was in new york two years ago i took a small cycle rickshaw ride in the city's main park.
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