Educational Media Reviews Online

This video is the story of the rickshaw worker in Calcutta, India. While the film states that it follows Jadav, a young man who leaves his drought-ridden village to find work in Calcutta, the film actually spends more time talking to and following Jadav's cousin, Suraj, who is already a rickshaw worker in Calcutta for over 20 years. Eastern India and Bangladesh are some of the poorest places on the planet. Calcutta is an urban disaster; planned in the 17th century to hold 800,000 people, it now contains over 15 million. The road system is impassable most of the time, due to the number of cars, buses, people, and rickshaws. Often, rickshaws are the fastest ways to get around. There are between 10,000 to 70,000 rickshaws there; it is the only place left where they are pulled by men. Many of these rickshaw workers do this backbreaking work for 30 - 40 years, working 10 hour days. Many have extensive health problems, including lung probems from all the pollution, and eventual blindness.

The film is very depressing. More than half of Calcutta's population is homeless, living on the streets for most of their lives. The rickshaw workers make less than $3 a day, and live away from their families, who they may see once or twice a year. For Suraj, as well as many others, they are stuck in their caste system, which is part of the foundation of the Hindu religion. One interesting part of the video discusses chulu, the worker's liquor, which is distilled on the streets, is 90 proof, is cheap, but is sometimes lethal. Everyone drinks it, because it helps them to forget their plight. Suraj shares a room with 8 other pullers, where they often get drunk on chulu and smoke marijuana. At the end of the film, Suraj decides to make a pilgrimage to one of the Hindu holy shrines, and it shows him making homage to the gods and swimming in the Ganges River.

This is a powerful film, showing the plight of some of the poorest people in the world. It is not an easy movie to watch; there is a section of the film where what happens to dead bodies in Calcutta is talked about, how the police and mafia control everything, and even bones are sold to make a profit. This film would be appropriate for discussions in sociology, urban studies, and religion.