These street vendors are usually very busy and the crowds that collect block the entire footpath. I took this pic in the afternoon when the streets and footpaths were relatively empty.
I have to confess I may be a little obsessed about the hand pulled rickshaws. In each of my trip to Kolkata the thing that stands out amidst a lot of differences between Kolkata and the city that I was born and raised and to any other city in the world that I have ever visited is the hand pulled rickshaws. In every narrow lane in parts of Kolkata where no other form of transport can reach, because of the narrow lanes albeit the place where the rich and elite of Kolkata thrive, there are these rickshaw walas to ferry you. Again I won’t debate the right or wrong of the humanity aspect of the trade but the fact remains that it is the only source of livelihood of many people of India. Personally I haven’t and wouldn’t sit on any one but it being a convenient mode of travel is very popular to travel in these very narrow lanes. I am reminded of the popular quote from the series Star Trek:
“……… to explore strange new worlds…….. to boldly go where no one has gone before”
😀 😀 😀
In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme.
Aristotle
Any trip of mine to Kolkata doesn’t seem complete without a few pictures from the street and particularly the rickshaw walas from the street. The old world charm…… (I am not going to try to justify the right or wrong aspect of the human angle to hand pulled rickshaws because it is the only source of income to many Indians) is unlike any other city in any other part of the world. I took the above pictures on my trip to Kolkata last week….. as the rickshaw walas took some time off between trips to catch up on their power naps. The monochrome effect seemed to bring life to an otherwise lazy picture also lending it the old world charm.
“Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead.
Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow.
Just walk beside me and be my friend.”
― Albert Camus
I took this picture in one of the bylanes of Ballygunge in Kolkata. It was a bright and sunny day and these deserted narrow lanes between the houses looked spooky and ethereal. The shadows cast by the trees on either side added depth to this pic. I took this pic with my cell. These little narrow lanes seem to go nowhere but in reality they are the major connecting roads and very common here. In Fact, they define the city. Walking is the only way to go unless you have a cycle or a hand pulled rickshaw which is very common here. The cycle rickshaws can’t pass through these lanes. Also it is very easy to get lost here. I was lucky to have a good guide to guide me through these roads…… else considering the inverted compass in my brain this would have been the perfect maze to get lost in.