Rickshaw and Rickshawpuller

With aesthetic glimmer first rickshaw was emerged in Chittagong on 1919. In Dhaka rickshaw first appear on 1938. One landlord of Shutrapur ( old Dhaka ) first brought this vehicle in the capital. Once rickshaw was consider as gorgeous and highly recognized elite’s van, but now it become opposite. According to city corporation, there are seventy six thousand rickshaw in Dhaka. Nowadays Dhaka is famous as the city of rickshaw.

Bangladeshi rickshaw is artistic decorated by plastic flower, ornaments and rickshaw art. These arts are done by enamel colors, usually bold and vivid. In the back of rickshaw, there are beautiful paintings, generally grameen scenarios and Bangladeshi movie stars action portraits. After independence, as witnessed the paintings were portraying the liberation war’s scenes . The forms of rickshaw art are changing with contemporary mode of life, culture and reality. By emerging of the digital technology, the rickshaw art now is facing the struggle of existences. The rickshaw artists are generally illiterate and have no formal art education. However this high motif art is not well recognized by the mainstream schools of art.

Rickshaw pullers generally comes from the villages, mostly are economically marginalized. With vision of a good life and good income, the illiterate villagers migrant to Dhaka after fighting with poverty. But whenever they don’t get job, as last option they start rickshaw pulling and become rickshaw puller!

By doing whole day hard job, a rickshaw puller still can not earn proper money for quality existence. The average income to a rickshaw puller is Tk. 200 – Tk300 ( 3-5 dolor). Because of economical lower status, they can not develop their social position as well. However there is prejudice about rickshaw and rickshaw in elite society, mostly are not well recognized by in the society.

Rickshaw puller generally takes unhygienic food in the roadside restaurants. They generally live in slums or rickshaw-garish. Because of poverty, they can not make peaceful life and family, however can not send the children in school. But now the situation little changing and they are getting interested in family planning and children’s education. Bachelor rickshaw pullers generally live like a homeless to save money. Married rickshaw puller’s wife generally works as a housemate or as a garments worker to makeup the family costing. Common and crude reality, because of poverty mostly rickshaw pullers children can not continue education and become ricksha puller like father.