猎奇印度加尔各答的人力车夫

The rickshaws of Kolkata, India, remnants of British imperiAlism, are among the last in the world, but phasing them out has been far from simple. In 2005, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee called them an “inhuman practice” and pushed for their eradication. But the All Bengal Rickshaw Union protested the ban, claiming that without alternative employment, the drivers would lose their livelihood. The photographer Dougie Wallace, who has a book coming out on taxis in Mumbai, “Road Wallah,” shot the drivers on these pages, many of whom told him they’ve been working for more than 20 years for less than 500 rupees ($8) a day. Still, says Shireen Hyrapiet, an instructor at Oregon State University who has interviewed drivers extensively, many young immigrants see pulling a rickshaw “as a means of upward social mobility.” Marnie Hanel

印度加尔各答的人力车是大英帝国的残留物，是世界上存在这种事物的最后几个地区之一，但是把它们淘汰掉也没那么容易。2005年，印度首席部长布达德夫·巴塔查尔吉(Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee)称拉人力车是“不人道的行当”，力主把它们清除掉。但是全孟加拉人力车联盟(All Bengal Rickshaw Union)抗议该禁令，称人力车夫没有其他工作，会因此失去经济来源。摄影师道基·华莱士(Dougie Wallace)即将出版一本关于孟买出租车的摄影集，名叫《路上的仆人》(Road Wallah)，里面是这些人力车夫的照片，其中很多人告诉他他们工作了20多年，每天的收入不到500卢比（8美元）。俄勒冈州立大学的讲师希琳·海拉皮特(Shireen Hyrapiet)广泛地采访了这些人力车夫。她说，很多年轻移民仍然把拉人力车看作“一种提高社会地位的途径”。

Population of Kolkata: 14,112,536

加尔各答的人口：14112536

Licensed rickshaws: About 6,000

有许可证的人力车数量：大约6000辆

Estimated rickshaw pullers: 18,000

估算的人力车夫的数量：18000

Average traffic speed of motorized vehicles: 8-11 M.P.H.

机动车的平均时速：8-11英里