The Rickshaw Puller

A rickshaw is a cheap means of transport. Rickshaws can be commonly seen in small towns and villages. A rickshaw is a source of earning for many people. Some have their own rickshaw and some have it on a daily rent. Some ply it during daytime and some at night.

Rickshaw pullers are seen at the railway stations, bus-stands, cinema houses and busy centres. A rickshaw puller plies his rickshaw in all sorts of weather. Rain or shine, winter or summer, he plies his rickshaw without complaining. He knows no rest, no holiday. His earning at the end of the day is very small. It is just enough to keep his body and soul together.

A rickshaw-puller is illiterate. He is poorly dressed. He looks rough and tough. He does not have refined manners. He uses abusive language. He does not mind quarrelling with the passengers. Sometimes he even comes to blow also. But all the rickshaw-pullers are not alike. Some are gentle and soft spoken. They do not bargain too much. They demand genuine fare. One feels like giving them more than they ask for.

The job of a rickshaw-puller is by no means an easy one. It is a hard task. It is greatly tiring. It requires physical strength. Most rickshaw-pullers look sad and miserable. The government should try to improve the lot of a rickshaw-puller. Rickshaws should be modernised. Some sort of machinery should be fixed in rickshaws so that a rickshaw puller may have to make a less use of legs. A rickshaw puller should be careful about his health. He should not waste his money on liquor.