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A palanquin goes by, carrying a Sahib rider. This would be a common street spectacle if we could travel back in time to the colonial era. (Depiction : A Palanquin)

The sketch is done on paper using graphite pencil, pen and watercolour brush pens by Ishani De. The below brief history and our own interpretation is prepared by Priyankush Ghosh & Sourendra Nath Dutta.

The palanquin or paalki is an ancient vehicle, that was found in many corners and cultures of the world. It was a type of sedan chair or a covered litter vehicle that was commonly used for private and public transportation which was carried by four or more bearers. The palanquin was typically made of wood, cane and bamboo, and was often covered with cloth or leather.

From 18th to early 20th century, palanquins were used by people of almost all classes in Calcutta, but they were especially popular among the wealthy and elite. The colours and the ornamentations of the cover of the private paalki denoted the aristocratic house it belonged to. The bearers were mostly of Dule and Bagdi castes, who were considered to be untouchables.

Later, people from the Hindi heartland and Orissa became common among the bearers. Palanquins were often used for ceremonial occasions. They were also used by people who were unable to walk long distances, such as the elderly, the sick, and pregnant women. In those days, the women of the elite families weren’t allowed to appear in public. So, when they went for Gangasnan in palanquin, the bearers would submerge the whole paalki with the rider inside in the river!

Colonisers fell in love with this human-powered vehicle. The palanquins kept their identity as the status symbol with them as well.

Did you know, the very first strike of India took place at Dharamatala of Calcutta, and that too conducted by the palanquin-bearers? In 1827, the government tried to control the fare and instructed the bearers to make a registration with the Calcutta police, the bearers called a strike. That was very much the beginning of the end of palanquins and fueled the rise of the horse-drawn carriage.

Palanquin has a significant connection with Durga Puja. Palanquin’s connotation is rather negative in this case – it’s believed that the year when Goddess Durga arrives in a palanquin, it signifies epidemic.

Time passed, and palanquins gradually vanished from the streets of the city. Today, they are found in museums, books, paintings and photographs. The simpler form of palanquin, the doli, is still used in hilly regions. But the original palanquin is no longer in use.

Occasionally, in some theme-wedding or a theme-pujo, the palanquin is revived as a symbol of tradition and heritage. But the memory still lingers, living through Tagore’s Birpurush, or Satyendranath Dutta’s Paalki-r Gaan.