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The
human rickshaw is a long-time dying anachronism.
Calcutta is the last major city in Asia to utilize this ancient
form of public transport. First introduced to India by the Chinese
to ferry goods, the British colonizers used them in the late 19th
century to have themselves driven around in style, first in their
idyllic hill-stations and summer resorts, later in many cities
of the British Empire. In Calcutta, the British stopped issuing
permits for new rickshaws as early as 1939 and limited their number
to 6000. While many cities in Asia, including Saigon in Vietnam
and Phnom Penh in Cambodia, still support large numbers of cycle
rickshaws, the human rickshaw, this most ancient, primitive and
cruel form of transportation has long been out of favor. Except
in Calcutta.
Full
Text by Tom Vater www.tomvater.com |
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