By: Vijay Kumar Verma, Group Editor-ICN World
SHIMLA : It is said that when Britishers made it their summer capital, they needed a royal means of travel for their women. Such man pulled rickshaws existed in Kolkata also. And are still there in operation. But in Kolkata it is used in old city lanes where the expert pullers take passengers through narrow alleys. In Kolkata it is pulled by a single person.
One such rickshaw, I spotted lying in the corridor of Gainda Mal showroom in New Shimla is a reminder of the mode of travel some five decades ago. According to the showroom owner, there were an estimated 2000 such man-pulled rickshaws being plied on the city’s restricted roads. Many owned by rich families and many used as public transport. There were many royal carriages too in Shimla used for visiting VVIPs, he told. One such carriage is also displayed in the premises of the Institute of Advanced Studies, while old pictures displayed in the gallery bear testimony to the fact. One such picture shows Mahatama Gandhi riding such a carriage on The Mall during 40s.
The rickshaws were pulled by upto four people, two in front, to pull and control, and two in the back to push and hold back. The steep slopes of Shimla roads need four people to pull the rickshaw.
There were many a rickshaw stands too and labour hostels too for these rickshaw pullers.
A rickshow-stand opposite Khadi Ashram (now turned into a rain shelter) and a labour hostel near Marina hotel, on the Mall were prominent locations as landmarks.
In all practical purposes these were used to ferry patients, old and infirm, and the rich.
While the roads in old Shimla town between High court and Vidhan Sabha are sealed zones, only ambulances and emergency vehicles are allowed to ply on such roads.
Many bollywood films picturised in Shimla too showcased use of such rickshaws.
Not extinct such man pulled rickshaws are also found in many other countries. I remember to have seen such a man pulled carriage in old Japan capital. But it is used for joy rides around a tourist park. Such rickshaws are also popular in some African countries.
Here in Shimla it is a silent reminder of the old mode of city transport in.
