You may think a variation of C.M. Coolidge’s Dogs Playing Poker featuring lecherous animals and a lone waitressing deer may be more at home in an art gallery. Think again.
It’s on the back of a Dhaka rickshaw.
© Shahabul Alam Sajib, Bangladesh, 2022
Shahabul Alam Sajib, a pioneer in rickshaw art, who was also intrsumental in getting Rickshaws and rickshaw painting in Dhaka inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2023, has been practicing the art since he was a mere teenager.
Live rickshaw art. Photo by MRB Rafi
The art form, which initially featured paintings of film stars and movies, slowly gave way to more socially relevant messages during Bangladesh’s Liberation War. Other messages also slowly came into prominence, including famous monuments or messages of education and inclusion. The rise of digital printing has meant that the art form is declining in popularity.
According to the Daily Messenger, there are currently 10 to 12 rickshaw painters working in Dhaka. Outside Dhaka, other rickshaw painters work to a lesser extent in the towns of Rajshahi, Comilla, Jessore, Khulna, Pabna, Chittagong, etc.
Apart from digital printing, the market for rickshaws is decreasing as well. Seen as a problem in urban contexts, the High Court of Dhaka banned battery-operated rickshaws on the streets in November 2024.
With its canvas disappearing, the art has now turned to a different canvas: products and outdoor art installations! Recently, a group of students from Dhaka University helped beautify tea stalls with rickshaw art.
As we travel along this path, the resilience of art and the importance of people who care is reemphasized!
© Shahabul Alam Sajib, Bangladesh, 2022