‘But I have an ishtereo, sir’
Many countryside lorry drivers, like the one steering this vehicle in Koraput, act as freelance cabbies when the malik is not looking
T
SANGUR, PUNJAB
|MON, JUL 13, 2020
Tales on two wheels from rural India
These are PARI's cycling chronicles: stories of 45-foot long bamboos carried on a bicycle in Tripura; the women’s cycling movement in Pudukkottai; a 97-year-old freedom fighter in Maharashtra who remains an energetic cyclist; a fish-seller who rides on a bicycle while playing a dhol behind him in Santiniketan. Accompanied by other two-wheelers – stories of a 1,200 km journey to Rewa on a gearless scooter during the lockdown, of a single mom who zips around on a scooty with the produce from her farm in Sivagangai, and a tea garden worker in Jalpaiguri who runs a free ‘bike ambulance’. Read these and more here
Author
In Anantapur: tales told by saddlebags
The sale of rexine motorbike saddlebags in this Andhra Pradesh town can be a fine predictor of poll results
August 3, 2021 | Rahul M.
Panvel to MP: Four days and nights on a scooter
Bimlesh Jaiswal, who lost one leg in an accident some years ago, travelled 1,200 kms during the lockdown from Panvel, Maharashtra, to Rewa, MP, on a gearless scooter, with his wife and three-year-old daughter
May 23, 2020 | Parth M.N.
The great Indian straw trick
In journeys along rural Indian roads, you sometimes run into the delightfully bizarre
March 19, 2020 | P. Sainath
Cycles, costumes, colour
October 23, 2018 | Purusottam Thakur
Ganpati Yadav’s gripping life cycle
He’s a freedom fighter, a farmer, a family man – and a cyclist extraordinary at the age of 97. Meeting Ganpati Bala Yadav recently in Maharashtra’s Sangli district was a deeply satisfying and moving experience
September 3, 2018 | P. Sainath
Make in India – with bamboos and leaves
Farmers, labourers and shepherds in rural Odisha wear delicately woven ‘rain hats’ while working. Made by Adivasis, they’re sold by small vendors, who carry them on bicycles across long distances
July 6, 2017 | P. Sainath
Karimul’s medical motorcycle diaries
A tea garden worker in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal runs a unique ‘bike ambulance’ free of cost for villagers, and he was recently awarded the Padma Shri
February 10, 2017 | Souryajit Nath & Arindam Bachar & Debannita Biswas
Dhol on wheels
Srilal Sahani is a fish-seller by day and an extraordinary musician by evening – he rides hands-off on a bicycle while playing a dhol and cymbals behind him – in Santiniketan, West Bengal
December 22, 2016 | Sinchita Maji
Prasanna's home is his rickshaw
Welfare measures have provided some security to families in Sanmaheswar village of Odisha, but done little to stop Prasanna Sabar and many others from migrating to the cities
July 29, 2016 | Purusottam Thakur
Small farmer, big heart, miracle bike
Chandra Subramanian is a single mom, cultivator and retailer in Sivagangai district, Tamil Nadu
March 7, 2016 | Aparna Karthikeyan
Where there is a wheel
The women’s cycling movement in Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu is a powerful metaphor for freedom
September 5, 2015 | P. Sainath
Recycling energy, Godda style
Koilawallahs cart quintals of scavenged coal from mining dumps on their modified bicycles to Godda. For this strenuous three-day walk, they earn barely a third of the minimum wage for manual labour in Bihar
August 5, 2015 | P. Sainath
Biswas and the bamboos on his bike
Ratan Biswas pushes a bicycle mounted with five bamboos weighing roughly 200 kilos across 17 kilometres
February 6, 2015 | P. Sainath
Wheels of the rural Indian West
The 'chakada' is part motorcycle, part cart – a patchwork product that's indispensable to rural Saurashtra. A photo essay
January 26, 2015 | Gurpreet Singh
The koilawallahs of Godda
Album: Recycling energy takes cycles and lots of energy
July 4, 2013 | P. Sainath
Want to republish this article? Please write to [email protected] with a cc to [email protected]
Donate to PARI
All donors will be entitled to tax exemptions under Section-80G of the Income Tax Act. Please double check your email address before submitting.
PARI - People's Archive of Rural India
ruralindiaonline.org
https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/tales-on-two-wheels-from-rural-india