Riding the RICKSHAW

Getting around Kathmandu has never been easier. We are now blessed with Safa Tempos, Micro buses, in addition to the regular trips on Taxis and even Buses…. wait.. Have we forgotten something else? Yes we have but now when I come to think of it, how were that possible? To forget about something that’s been a part of the culture and tradition that’s been Kathmandu for a very long time. They are found in every gully, in every crossing, outside every temple and significant trademark of this place we call home. If your memory still fails you then its time I spelt it out. I’m taking about the rickshaw, the three wheeled cycle that’s been one of the oldest forms of public transport in Kathmandu. Although they seem so insignificant in our lives right now, they are everywhere New Road, Indrachowk, Ason, Thahity, Durbar Marg, Basantapur, all crowded together waiting to able to give somebody a ride. And so how many of us have actually paused to think of those men toiling their way through the narrow lanes of Kathmandu in the hope of earning a meager income? You’ve probably seen people riding in rickshaw you’ve probably seen cops harassing the living daylights out of them; you’ve probably caught a rickshaw wallah unawares while he takes a nap, a welcome break after a day’s work or sleeping due to lack of business. Or children quietly stealing a ride and even if the rickshaw wallah catches them playing truant they don’t get off until and unless the rickshaw comes to stop and they are literally chased out of sight. You’ve probably seen rickshaw with a crowd of ¾ passengers giving the guy on the front seat, pedaling hard, a hard time, and then you’ve probably seen a girl, with a lost look on her face, enjoying the ride if you did see such a girl, that was probably me ha ha….