Life of a Rickshaw Puller

A rickshaw puller is one who supports himself as well as his family by pulling rickshaw. Very often he hires the rickshaw from others since he cannot manage to buy his own rickshaw. He is quite familiar figure both in cities and towns. In general, he lives in a slum or small cabin.  He works hard from morning till late night; nevertheless, he leads a poor life full of miseries. He is heedless of the condition of the weather and set out for work in fair or foul weather. At the end of the day, he comes back home with a meager amount of money which he spends to purchase groceries for the day.  But if he falls ill, his family members are sure to fall in misery. Then all of them cannot but starve. He can hardly enjoy peace of life. Being a poverty stricken people, he also suffers from inferiority complex. He dare not expect a better future for his children for the reason that he cannot afford to send them to school. His behavior is not always gentle and polite towards his passengers. Sometimes disputes take place between him and the passenger for fare. If the passenger doesn’t give him the exact fare, he throws filthy and rough words to him. His demand soars when the weather is very rough or foul. Being exhausted, he, sometimes, dozes or sits beneath a tree.    When he earns more money, his happiness finds its expression in his face. But he looks pale in case of his failure. Belonging to a low class community, he is actually deprived of peace and happiness. Only kindness and sympathy will not do if we want to change their condition. Our government, together with different NGOs, should come forward with a helping hand and persuade them to send their children to school in order that their next generation can lead a decent life.