Luxury <I>tomtoms</I> on last legs
A quaintly decorated tomtom on a city street.Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain
Gani Mia, the 20-year-old kochoan (coachman), was feeling quite blissful sitting on his newly decorated carriage tomtom, though yoked to two malnourished horses. Compared to the dreary look of other tomtoms standing nearby, Gani's one was shimmering amidst the hustle and bustle of Gulistan.
The red rexin hood with yellow tassels is hanging from four corners over the red seats while the rest of the tomtom's body has spotless white decoration.
“This is my dream job. I only wish I could ride my carriage in a more open road. This horrible traffic jam ruins all the fun,” said Gani, oblivious of the fact that he has been carrying on with a 200-year-old heritage of the city.
Gani, who has been a kochoan for the last eight years, said during weekends he usually stands near places where people spend leisure time such as Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban or Dhaka University campus. “Many people still admire horse carriage and hire it for a brief joy ride on weekends or special festival days,” he noted.
However, during weekdays the carriages become passenger carriers plying from Sadarghat to Gulistan. The route starts from Sadarghat launch terminal and ends at Gulistan near Golap Shah Mazar via English Road, Johnson Road and Nababpur Road.
Although designed for six, these vehicles are usually crammed with as many as 12 persons in every trip. The fare for a trip from Sadarghat to Gulistan is Tk 12. To hire the carriage for a special occasion it will cost about Tk 400 to Tk 500 per hour.
The owner earns around Tk 1500 of which Tk 500 is spent on feeding the horses.
Usually run by young boys the carriages make six or seven trips daily. Most of them stay at the carriage owner's place. Their job also includes taking care of the horses and the cart.
Gani said most horses are brought from Bikrampur and Mymensingh area and they can run till the age of 11 or 12. However, most of these animals and the carts are in an appalling condition. Good breed of imported horses are very expensive, he said.
According to eminent historian Prof Muntasir Mamoon horse carriage was on the only mode of transport in Dhaka city back in the 19th century.
The first horse carriage landed in Dhaka from Kolkata in mid-19th century. According to Prof Mamoon, it was brought in by the Armenian community who used to live in Dhaka at that time and played an important role in trade in Bengal.
"By the end of 19th century horse carriage became the main mode of transport in Dhaka. Following the colonial culture, local zamindars and the elite started using it to flaunt their status," he said.
After the arrival of horse carriages the roads of Dhaka had to be redesigned and renovated with materials suited to its need.
According to Prof Mamoon, there were various designs of this carriage available in Kolkata. In Dhaka, however, the palki style became very popular. As the name suggests it was designed following another traditional transport, palki.
The horse carriage of today is a slight modification of sedan, used mostly by the zamindars and rich of that period. Palki was more popular among the middle class.
The palki gari had four wooden wheels and was usually pulled by two horses. The sitting area had wooden roof and was covered from all sides just like a palki. Unlike the ones we see today it was designed for six passengers.
The driver of the horse carriage is called the kochoan or sahis. Besides, the zamindars always had one attendant standing at the rear of the carriage.
Tomtom is the carriage pulled by one horse. The carriages have different names in different areas such as tanga, jurigari or ekka. These were mostly two-wheel without roof.
Painter and cartoonist Rafiqunnabi (Ranabi) lived for many years at Narinda in Old Dhaka from 1950s. Nabi described the horse carriage he saw during his childhood.
"I was a student of class three when my family arrived in Dhaka in 1953. I saw this fascinating transport for the first time when we got off from the train at Fulbaria station. Outside the station stood the four-wheeled gorgeous ride," Nabi recalls.
He said the horse carriage was a common mode of transport at a time when motorcars were very few in Dhaka. From Gulistan to Sadarghat the fare was Tk 1 in the 1960s.
Prof Mamoon said until 1950s horse carriage was the main transport of Dhaka. After that the city gradually became modern. With the arrival of motor vehicles, horse-drawn carriages could not compete anymore. Its usage died out with the passage of time.
Today only 20 to 30 horse carriages are left in the city to carry on with the century-old heritage. The owners have to take licence from the wheel tax department of Dhaka City Corporation for running the carriage in the street.
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