The Story of the Hand Pulled Rickshaw of Mussoorie.

Shri Nathji and Mahamateswari often took a rickshaw to travel in Mussoorie as cars were not allowed in the city. It was also a very fashionable mode of transport in those days. All the rich Maharajas has provided a special uniform for their rickshaw pullers. Shri Nathji also provided uniforms for His rickshaw pullers. .He used to give then liberal tips and pat on their backs lovingly. On one occasion that Shri Babaji Maharaj was at Mussoorie, Shri Nathji pulled the rickshaw of Shri Babaji Maharaj as a token of his homage to him. It was truly a great occasion for the world that two such divine beings existed within it. The hand driven rickshaws of Mussoroe are long gone., but there nostalgia remains, for the old residents of Mussorrie.

It was during the 1890s that the ‘Queen of Hills’ had become a known destination for love, romance and parties. And officers of the East India Company, young princes and nawabs of the Indian states hardly missed a chance to holiday amid the tranquil surroundings of Mussoorie.

Although it was, and still is, very peaceful and safe to walk on the roads of Mussoorie, it was sometimes a tough task for party-goers after a night of revelry. An Indian businessman, Master Mahanand Rohilla, hailing from a village near Saharanpur, came up with the idea of introducing hand-pulled rickshaws for which the British authority instantly gave permission and provided him a workshop on rent near the Charliville hotel. The Charliville, hotel was converted into the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration after independence

Soon, the rickshaw became a popular mode of transport and even a status symbol. Ramanand, as Master Mahanand was called by the British, started a bigger workshop in 1903 at Inder Bhawan between the Tati hotel and the Anaar Villa.

Ramanand got over 300 rickshaws made and employed many carpenters, blacksmiths and cobblers from Sardhana, near Meerut, and many locals from the towns adjoining Mussoorie. The strong young men who pulled these rickshaws were called ‘Jhampanies’ and they were provided impressive uniforms. They all lived together at the Ramanand Cottage at Inder Bhawan (Inder Bhawan named after Baldev Inder Singh of Punjab). Five ‘Jhampanies’ would pull a double-seated rickshaw and four a single one. The colonial affair lasted till independence.

After Ramanand’s demise, Bhargava of the Suryakiran hotel carried on the rickshaw trade, but the Rohilla family still possesses the remains of the rickshaw and the uniforms of the ‘Jhampanies’, some of whom later bought their own rickshaws.