The Life of a Rickshaw Puller
A rickshaw puller is a poor day laborer who earns his livelihood by pulling a rickshaw. He is a familiar figure in our country. Generally, he lives in a slum area. He carries passengers and goods in his rickshaw from one place to another on payment. Very few rickshaw pullers have their own rickshaws. Usually, a rickshaw puller hires a rickshaw from the owner on a daily basis. He takes a rickshaw on hire for a half-day or for a full day. He earns money by the sweat of his honest brow and supports his family. He comes out on the roads and streets early in the morning and works with his rickshaw till the late hours of the night. He works in good and bad weather. He bargains with passengers and fixes up the fare. He demands more when the weather is very hot or foul. Nowadays some rickshaw pullers are seen engaged in carrying school children. It gives them a permanent income.
Sometimes he feels tired but cannot take rest. Even he cannot take rest during heavy rainfall or in the scorching heat of in the summer. He gets drenched in the rain and burnt in the sun. He must pull rickshaw to earn the daily bread for himself and for his family. Despite working very hard a rickshaw puller earns little. He cannot save money. So when he is sick he and his family fall into trouble. He has to lead a very miserable life. His life is full of sorrows and sufferings. He cannot enjoy peace and happiness. Thus a rickshaw puller has to lead a very hard life amidst dire poverty. Sometimes he feels tired but cannot take rest. He has to live from hand to mouth.
Sometimes, his income is less than the usual. Then he faces more difficulties in maintaining his family. He has to live from hand to mouth. He cannot provide food, education, and medicine to his family properly. Even they have to starve sometimes. In spite of all these odd conditions, he feels proud to live on his fair earnings from his sweat. Most of the rickshaw drivers do not know the traffic rules. Often a rickshaw puller falls a victim to accidents and may lose a life. He finds great pleasure to serve people at a minimum cost. His service is really very great. It is true that his social status is not high at all. He is a friend to all. If we don’t pay him more than the real wage, it’s alright. But we should never underestimate his labor. He finds great pleasure to serve human being at a minimum cost. So we should show due respect to a rickshaw puller.
