Hand-Pulled Rickshaw । টানা রিকশা

Like the Victoria Memorial, tramcars and Howrah Bridge, the hand-pulled rickshaw is one of Kolkata’s most well recognised symbols. Kolkata is among the only places in India — and one of the few left in the world — where fleets of hand-pulled rickshaws still ply the streets. The hand-pulled rickshaw was invented in Japan in 1869 and was introduced in Calcutta by its Chinese population, who arrived in the capital of British India from colonies like Canton, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.

Post-World War II, colonialism declined in Asia and the hand-pulled rickshaw faded out of use from erstwhile British colonies. Strangely, the legacy of rickshaws continued in Calcutta long after the British Empire was gone, and long after the communist government in China banned the use of these three-wheeler human haulers. Not only did it survive in Calcutta, but the tenacious hand-pulled rickshaw has become an icon of the metropolis.