Bullock carts, still a crucial part of Palakkad

PALAKKAD: Bullock carts may be a misnomer in this e-age. But, for a number of villagers in the border areas of Palakkad,it is still the means of living.  Those who own bullock carts have been playing a pivotal role in providing essentials, including grocery and vegetables, to the villagers in these areas for several years.    Many of the shopkeepers of Nemmara, Koduvayur, Thattamangalam, Chittur, Kollengode, Pudunagaram,  Nallepilly and Kozhinjampara have been depending on the materials carted  by the bullocks.On Wednesday nights, a convoy of bullock carts will set off for the Pollachi market, which functions on Thursdays and Sundays, to purchase the essentials.  It will take 10 to 12 hours for a bullock cart to reach Pollachi from Kollengode and Nemmara. “We prefer to travel in night or early morning as the bullocks will grow tired when it is hot. If the sun heats, they stop along the way. So we will take breaks at Nanjegounderpudur or Meenakshipuram to feed the animals,” says Manoharan, who runs a shop at Thattamangalam.  He said that it was the small traders who rely on them mainly. Though the bullock carts on their way from Tamil Nadu have to pass through the checkposts of Gopalapuram,   Meenakshipuram, Nadupunni and Govindapuram, they are seldom checked or levied any tax.Moreover, there are no loading or unloading charges as the cartman himself unloads it at the shops.“Now the numbers of bullock cart has dwindled considerably. Many of the former bullock cart owners have purchased tempos and lorries.  But, small traders like me are still depending them,” says Murugan, another shop keeper from Nemmara.“Our family have been doing this job from the days of my great grandfather. We have two pairs of bullocks at our home,” said Arumughan, a bullock cart owner.“Bullock carts were part of our lives for decades. But my children have been advising me to switch to other modes of transport. But, I will prefer only bullock carts,” says Senthil, a cart owner from Kollengode.“The bullock carts were part of Tamil culture. The border villages of Palakkad district have a large cross section of Tamil- speaking people. Our local bodies have banned wooden wheel bullock carts under the Panchayat Raj Act. The population of draft animals has dwindled and so were the number of bullock carts,”said the senior veterinary surgeon Shudhodhanan.“It was the Kangayam breed which were used as work bullocks. But, now since the emphasis was on increasing the milk yield, most of the Kangayam breed have been subjected to cross breeding with Jersy and Holstein, which has resulted in the dwindling number of draft animals. Work bullocks need to be sleek and compact, with a great deal of physical fitness and temperature tolerance, apart from pulling power,”he said.