Rickshaw Ruminations

I had something of a vehicular epiphany today. I realized that I often talk casually in my weblog/in emails/on the phone with you people about “rickshaws,” the omnipresent form of cheap transport in Bangladesh, yet I am unsure whether any of you are actually aware of what a rickshaw is. A rickshaw is basically a rusty racing bicycle with a small, two-wheeled, tin “carriage” attached to the back. I take at least one every day. They are as much a part of my day here as getting into my Ford Focus and tooling around Grand Rapids was…except they cost an average of 15 Taka (25 cents) per ride.

I now curse myself for not being able to post pictures. Rickshaws are interesting for many reasons. The most fascinating feature is the great lengths to which the “rickshawallahs” (drivers) will go to decorate their vehicles. Brightly colored tassels, bells, plastic birds, gaudy fabrics—the works. The coolest thing about Bangladeshi rickshaws is the paintings on the back. There are scenes from cheesy Bengali pop movies, village landscapes, sometimes even animals engaged in human behavior. Usually rickshaw pullers are among the poorest of the working poor, but they still go all out to deck out their vehicles.

John was scared shitless of rickshaws when he first came to the ‘Desh, and not without good reason. He pointed out to me that they were nothing more than tin cans, and that if we had a collision, the rickshaw—and the passengers—would be toast. I had never thought about it that way before. His fear subsided with time, but these days I can’t help envisioning myself flying head first into the sewage-filled Gulshan Lake each time I step into the ‘tin can’ to go to work in the morning.

We went to Old Dhaka this weekend to visit Ahmed, the world-famous rickshaw artist. He has a particular knack for copying portraits, and some of my friends had actually commissioned some artwork from him. He’ll take your portrait and paint you right into a cheesy film romance scene, or turn you into a rice-harvesting villager. I saw my friend (and fellow Michigan State intern) Natasha’s finished piece. On a board of tin, Ahmed bhai rendered Natasha perfectly, dressed in a yellow sari and riding a rickshaw that was being pulled by her fiancée Chris. It was awesome. At 25 bucks a pop, I’m definitely brining some of this stuff home with me.

Anyway, I should get going. I have to catch a rickshaw up to the travel agent’s office to confirm my tickets for summer.

Toodles,

TKP