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Ludhiana Tonga Stands
Well before the advent of three-wheelers, it was the tonga that bore the brunt of transporting passengers in bulk from one part of the city to the other. Once upon a time, there used to be tonga stands all over the old city. Among the oldest ones were the tonga stands at the railway station, Ghanta Ghar and Ghass Mandi.
But gradually, the tonga gave away to the smoky three-wheeler, to the extent that it went off the road. Literally, tonga stands got converted into three-wheeler and rickshaw stands.
But a lone one still stands as a reminder of the city’s vanished heritage near the Laxmi cinema. A metal signboard placed against a wooden structure records that the stand was established in 1950. A dozen odd tongas, are parked here and there. There are mares, too. Some are having their hay while the hungry ones are trying to nibble at the manger.
Along the near boundary wall sits a cobbler whose skilled hands move swiftly as he makes bridles for the mares. To his right is a small tea stall. Some ex-tongawallahs are sitting here and there, two of them smoking hashish together. They are going through a rough patch. All that they do here all day is to wait for people who need a mare for a marriage or something else.
Though the city has bidden adieu to the mare-driven tonga, it can’t possibly afford to do so to the mule-driven load carts (Khachar rehras), which continue to thrive because of the business requirements of the city.
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