With two miserable blogs in a row I am now in the Sharukh Khan league!!
Holi hey jee… (4 comments) and May talli May talli ( 3 comments) met the same fate as Rab Ne bana… and Billu Barber. Moral of the story: If you are blogging pictures from jungles then you are barking up the wrong tree.
So let me stick to the slumdog formula. Here I go…
These Slumcoal Millionaires load on an average 150 kgs of coal bags on their cycles. The load distribution is so scientific that the cycle seldom goes off balance. The job requires real stamina. These cyclists have to travel around 80kms in 12 hours. Apart from stamina the skill level required to run these cycles is phenomenal.
The rider has to sit on the carrier right at the back and somehow get the vision of the road ahead. Both his legs dangle on one side. He then leans forward to clutch the handle bars. Many a times these are through the gaps between the coal bags. Since there is no way the cycle can now be pedaled he has to constantly keep kicking the road to surge ahead!!There is a ten kilometer ghat section that has to be encountered between Hazaribagh district, from where the journey begins, to Ranchi. Here they have to dismount and push their load uphill.
So how do the older lot of coaldog millionaires manage? There is a jugaad for this also. For Rs.50/- to Rs.60/- their cycles can be towed by professionals on scooters and motorcycles. Many of them objected to my shooting their pictures as the coal they are transporting is illegal.
After selling their coal to a dalal in Ranchi they then load their cycles on a bus and return back. This makes them lighter by another seventeen rupees. The next day the cycle is again repeated. Their life sure is one great journey.
For all the pains they have to go through they earn Rs.400/- per trip and on an average they can make ten to twelve such trips in a month.
If after this, someone still thinks that Tour de France is the toughest biking competition he surely must be nuts.
For me it will always be Tour de Jharkhand.
8 comments:
Arun
Of late , why your films are bombing at the Box office and is shorn of proper collections are:
There are no songs , no couplets, no lady protagonist, no seductive numbers, just melodrama...boss ! probably the boo-hoo era is not palatable to our beningly baulking bloggers, hesitating to cross the balustrade seperating both,
and so may be the case with flora depiction, recollect even my fauna blog elicited 2 comments.
Heed my word , and the boutonniere is yours !
You speak more on love, seduction, double cross , whodunits and what have you, believe me MANMOHAN DESAI jingles cash !
We were taught what Carrying coals To New Castle meant....
This is indeed incredible stuff!
For Tour De Jharkhand you need Tour De Daal!
Life is a Cycle...Enjoy
Kya Pata, CyKal Ho Na Ho!
Incredible feat, AB! I cannot believe it. Gosh, I can imagine how arduous a task it is to control the bike while seated in that odd position.
I'm never going to drive on those roads, especially due to the danger these guys portend--after all, how can we blame 'em when they hardly have any control on the bike!
Looks like Guiness book needs an update.
Arun these are excellent pics taken at the risk of getting jhads from the jhopdiwallas of Jharkand. Imagine using a bike without pedalling and with such heavy loads. Its a wonder they manage to survive the long trip.They would have given Balraj Sahni a run for his money. Why dont they use rickshaws?(Let them eat cake if they have no bread)ha ha!
Wow, what a photo story... You should be writing for the papers man! Steel industry mein kya kar rahe ho? Trust me, such feature stories have an instant market world wide (Udaya will vouch for this...). Well written, boss!! Keep it up.
Hey Arun.......
Indeed, this story needs to be told to more people. Amazing! God alone knows how many such illegal 'tours' take place in our country. And the poor things are not even rewarded amply :-{I'm surprised they allowed you to take out snaps.
Arun, seriously why don't you blog elsewhere too? Especially if you want stimulating discussions. I have told you so many times but don't pester enough because Vimal might think I'm trying to steal you away from his postcard..hahaha!
But seriously what I mean is you don't have to stop writing here...the same thing can be posted elsewhere...:-}I really hate to see such good writing skills not be recognized...:-{
The life of the coaldog millionaires is indeed heart-wrenching. What comes across very strongly for a first time observer like me is the bloody insensitivity to the entire issue. Everything happens in broad daylight day after day and year after year and yet it is accepted as a normal aspect of our lives.
Enarkay you sure gave Marie Antoniette a run for her money or should I say cake!! Next time I will ask them why don't they pool in and buy a truck!! That will make it the bread, the cake and the oven.
Nargis, thanks maybe I should try...
Venu, I will post a pix where they are objecting to my photography soon.
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