Right from the early days of time when humans had to move from one place to another, they devised some method of transport by which they could also move their resources along with them. This paved way for the invention of many modes of transport which included human driven, fuel driven vehicles and so on. Among the human driven vehicles, the one prominent vehicle that comes to people’s mind is “RICKSHAW”. Rickshaw in general can be defined as a vehicle that is driven by a human which has the capacity of seating one or two persons at the maximum.
HISTORY OF RICKSHAW
There are different variants of the rickshaw. One kind is that a driver pulls the cart or rickshaw with the hand and transports people. In another kind, a driver pedals the rickshaw using his legs. The former is more popular in countries like Japan while the latter can be witnessed more in countries like India. The second type of rickshaws described can be commonly called as bicycle rickshaws because of the pedaling mechanism involved. In general, the term Rickshaw can be used to describe both the forms of the vehicle. Looking back at the way the vehicle originated the word Rickshaw seems to have been of Japanese origin. The literal meaning of Rickshaw is “human powered vehicle”.
Around the late 18th century, Rickshaws became so popular in Japan that it became the most used form of transport. The rickshaws were primarily pulled by a person. Around the same time, these rickshaws arrived in India and were in use in towns like Shimla and also in cities like Calcutta (Kolkata). Soon, the craze started spreading towards the entire South-east Asia. Even in the cities of New York, London and San Diego, such human pulled rickshaws were common.
RICKSHAWS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
The capital city of Bangladesh, Dhaka is often referred to as “Rickshaw Capital of the World”. Such was the use of rickshaws for people to travel in the narrow streets of Dhaka. In China, rickshaws were popular from as early as 1800. But, rickshaws started decreasing once the People’s Republic of China was formed in 1949. In the country of Hong Kong, rickshaws were imported from Japan and were in wide use in the early 1900’s. But, after the Second World War, their popularity started decreasing. In the city of Durban in South Africa, rickshaw pullers attract tourists to travel in rickshaws especially along the beaches. In Malaysia, rickshaws were in operation in the 19th and 20th centuries. But, due to urbanization and need for more efficient forms of transport, rickshaws slowly lost its importance and is now seen in very few places mainly as a tourist attraction.
In India, Kolkata is the most famous city where a large number of people earn their living through hand pulled rickshaws. Also, in the hill station of Matheran in Maharashtra, man pulled rickshaws are the only form of transport as the place is considered eco-friendly. Rickshaws are still popular in some of the southern states of India used by people for transport.
Info articel:
- homestay Ahmedabad
- origin of rickshaw
- riksha origin
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