Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (MS)

Udupi, Jul 24: Bullock cart, which was the lifeline of transport a century ago, is totally forgotten in present times. Our ancestors used to transport goods and travelled themselves on the bullock cart. As the tractors came into the market, the bullock cart got off the roads.

It is very difficult to find a bullock cart in the coastal districts of Karnataka which have grown at a fast pace in the past three to four decades. However, there are families who have preserved the cart as a memoir in their houses.

One such family is that of Dinesh Shettigar, resident of Saraswati Nagar in Parkala. The bullock cart in his house has served for three generations of his family.

The bullock cart at the house of Dinesh used to bring rice bags, grocery items, condiments, jaggery, wooden logs, coconuts, vegetables and grass from Bailur, Karkala, Hebri and Udupi where the weekly market used to take place.

Dinesh Shettigar says, “This cart was first used by late grandfather Kitta Shettigar. Later my father Late Sadhu Shettigar got it repaired and used the same. This cart has seen three generations. That is why we are still preserving it as a memoir.”

“I am really happy that the bullock cart which was used by my husband still stands in front of the house. Though my children got educated and are working in Udupi and Manipal, they have preserved it in memory of our ancestors. This is a sweet memory of our family,” says Bhavani Shettigar, mother of Dinesh and wife of Late Sadhu Shettigar.

The surprising fact is that this bullock cart which is a century old is still in usable condition. As the general public gives more importance to motor vehicles because of changed times, bullock carts are almost extinct. But the effort of the Shettigar family reminds people who pass by their house of the olden golden times according to local social worker Ganeshraj.