Photos

This is the second photo of a hand-rickshaw puller I have added to my gallery; The first of which I added about a month ago.

This was not a posed shot, but I noticed the rickshaw puller watching me as I made my way down the side-street and getting closer to where he was sat. I was intending to photograph him but also wished he hadn't noticed me first. I wanted a natural shot of him relaxing but I could see it was too late now. As I got to him I was still debating whether or not I was going to take his picture but he already knew the answer: He adjusted his position ready for his turn and gave me a big smile. I guess he just knew how photogenic he was!

I am not sure what this proud and friendly man is doing to survive now. Whether his life is better or worse. Whether he is still working as a hand-rickshaw puller or whether he has a new job; a better job; a future...

Only 2 weeks after I left the dusty streets of Kolkata and indeed India behind, a law was passed to phase out hand-pulled rickshaws in this fascinating city.

The following is an excerpt from the BBC World News dated Monday December 4th, 2006:-

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Kolkata's famous hand-pulled rickshaws will soon be banned, according to the chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal.

The rickshaws had long been considered "inhuman" and did not exist anywhere else, Buddhadev Bhattacharya said.

The hand-pulled rickshaw came from China in the 19th century.

Mr Bhattacharya said: "We have taken a policy decision to take the hand-drawn rickshaw off the roads of Kolkata on humanitarian grounds.

"Nowhere else in the world does this practice exist and we think it should also cease to exist in Kolkata," he said.

The chief minister said the authorities were thinking of alternative modes of transport so that the transition did not affect either the pullers or the riders.

"This involves money and training. It will be about the end of this year when the rickshaws are finally gone," he said.

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The government goes on to mention introducing a "rehabilitation package" for rickshaw drivers to train them for other jobs but I don't know whether this been implemented or whether most of these people are now forgotten and jobless.

The average earnings of a rickshaw puller is around 100 rupees ($2.25) a day. Most sleep, eat and live on the city's crowded pavements.

Many are poor people from states neighbouring West Bengal. In most cases they do not own the vehicles, but pay a sizeable portion of their earnings to hire them.

I do not know what it is like now but when I was there these rickshaws were still a common sight in the city. They were especially in demand during the monsoon when flooded streets make it hard for commuters to use taxis or cars.

PP details: Full-frame shot, no cropping; Minimal brightness/contrast correction; Black frame added.

Regards,

Rich