Dear Listers, While on the subject of rickshaw-pullers, I am reminded of the 1953 classic film called 'Do Bigha Zameen' (Two Bighas of Land, a bigha is about 1/3rd of an acre) by Bimal Roy. It is the story of a marginal farmer who comes to Calcutta to earn some money as a rickshaw-puller, so that he can get his land back from the money-lender, only to see his land gobbled up by an industry. The film won the Filmfare award, instituted from that very year. It also won awards at Cannes and Karlovy Vary. For more info, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Bigha_Zameen It is available on youtube by typing the name in the search box. Incidentally, bicycle rickshaws, once common in many parts of India, were somehow never seen in Bombay, Poona and Western Maharashtra. They are generally disappearing and are replaced by autorickshaws. The areas of North India where they are still seen is sarcastically called the 'Rickshaw Belt' (like the more well-known Bible Belt of the southern parts of the US or the Cow Belt of Eastern UP and Bihar of India). Arvind Kolhatkar, Toronto, April 28, 2010.