Rickshaw painting () is a form of

neo-romanticism The term neo-romanticism is used to cover a variety of movements in philosophy, literature, music, painting, and architecture, as well as social movements, that exist after and incorporate elements from the era of Romanticism. It has been used ...

emerging in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. The art in question consists of

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

s on the rear of the canvas roof of

rickshaw Rickshaw originally denoted a pulled rickshaw, which is a two- or three-wheeled cart generally pulled by one person carrying one passenger. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time, cycle rickshaws (also known as pedicabs or tr ...

s, done by local street artists, who also paint the various landscapes, portraits and personal statements of the driver. Rickshaws and rickshaw paintings of Bangladesh are listed as '

intangible cultural heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. In ...

' by UNESCO.

History

In Bangladesh, rickshaw art dates back to the 1950s, and every conceivable part of the rickshaw is painted. In addition to geometric designs, there are depictions of flowers, birds and even popular actresses. The rickshaw can be decorated to show the driver's religious beliefs and sometimes even a commentary on current social issues.RickshawArt.or
''Website of the social entreprise RickshawArt in Bangladesh.''
Dhaka. In Bangladesh, rickshaw art is looked down upon by the elite population. The three-wheeled pedicab, more commonly known as the

, has been around since the 1940s. Initially, they were undecorated, but starting in the late 1940s, the faces of movie stars began appearing as decorative motifs on shields at the back of the rickshaws along with a variety of floral paintings. The unique trend of rickshaw art started from

Rajshahi Rajshahi (, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major Urban area, urban, administrative, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi Distr ...

and

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

in Bangladesh and took its own style in each district. For instance,

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

, being a more pious city than Dhaka, mostly had floral or scenery art, whereas

Comilla Comilla (), officially spelled Cumilla, is a metropolis on the banks of the Gomti River in eastern Bangladesh. Comilla was one of the cities of ancient Bengal. It was once the capital of Tripura kingdom. Comilla Airport is located in the Duli ...

has plain rickshaws with beautiful dark blue or green hoods, on which are sewn an appliqué of a minaret or floral design enshrining the word "Allah". Artwork on the wheels of the rickshaws is done using very bold, bright and raw colours, like fluorescent green, dark red and so on. The blaze of colours also helps to make them long lasting. Author Joanna Kirkpatrick states her definition of rickshaw art:

I consider it "peoples' art". It is not necessary to force it into a unitary category as it combines folkloric, movie, political and commercial imagery and techniques. It serves the expression of heart's desires of the man in the street for women, power, wealth, as well as for religious devotion. Rickshaw art also serves prestige and economic functions for the people who make, use and enjoy it.

Rickshaw art also reflects the

economic globalization Economic globalization is one of the three main dimensions of globalization commonly found in academic literature, with the two others being political globalization and cultural globalization, as well as the general term of globalization. Econ ...

process, which is occurring all over the world today, for instance, those rickshaws with Osama bin Laden's pictures. Rickshaws are not only painted but also decorated with tassels, tinsel and colourful plastic. Rickshaw art covers the whole rickshaw decoration, from painted backboards and rear side panels to cut-outs appliquéd on to hoods, as well as brass vases replete with plastic or paper flowers. The painted rectangular metal board at the backside, between the two wheels, leaves a trail of passion that the Rickshaw artist puts in his creations. This living pop art in Bangladesh is primarily created by illiterate rickshaw artists. They learn their techniques by living with Ustat (masters) from boyhood. They do not have copyrights, and in most cases are not attributed by name on their art. In the back of rickshaws, however, there is generally a mark of the maker indicated by a bold steel pin, for example, "Fazlu Mistri". Today, rickshaw art and artists are in a 'struggle of existence'. Third and fourth generations are increasingly less interested in learning the art due to low incomes of two to three dollars a day as well as the lack of recognition. In 2023,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

inscribed Dhaka's rickshaws and rickshaw paintings on its list of

Gallery

File:Rickshaws in Rajshahi 01.jpg File:Ricksha art.jpg File:Nobo Kumar Bhadra's animal related rickshaw art.jpg File:Nobo Kumar Bhadra's Bangladesh Cinema influenced rickshaw art.jpg File:Hand-painted rickshaw art 03.jpg

References

Bibliography

* Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt and David Williams. (2010). ''Moving Pictures: The Rickshaw Art of Bangladesh.'' {{ISBN, 978-0944142639, invalid1=yes Ahmedabad: Mapin Books. Visual arts media Indian painting Pakistani painting Arts in India Arts in Bangladesh Arts in Pakistan Bangladeshi painting Human-powered vehicles Decorated vehicles Rickshaws Transport culture of India Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity

History

Gallery

See also

References

Bibliography