From being the choicest mode of transport of the crème de la crème once, to being perceived as an urban nuisance now, the tonga has come a long way in the city of Delhi. A walk down the Walled City — passing by the Old Delhi Railway Station in particular — is a telling experience. An area which once was the happy haunt of tongas now teems with a jumble of cycles and autorickshaws. Only a meticulous pair of eyes can skim through the new age vehicles to spot the dozen or so tongas scattered along the road.
The horse-driven two-wheeled carriage, which shot to prominence during the time of the Moghuls, is reduced to a few hundreds in number today, and relegated to the old city. However, if the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has its way, the road may truly come to an end for tongas soon. Middle-aged Daya Ram, a city tongawallah for the last 20 years, is naturally disgruntled by the move. “The tonga has been plying for centuries in the city and it should not be discontinued so abruptly,” he says. “This is all I know how to do,” he adds, his eyes looking desolate at the indefinite future.
The decision of the MCD to allot tehbazaari permits as an alternate employment to the tongawallahs smacks of myopia, as adequate attention has not been paid to the complexities of the situation. Jagdish, who has been working as a tongawallah for the last 32 years, says he bought his tonga from a fellow tongawallah some years ago, the license is still not in his name. “Since it is not in my name, I will not be a beneficiary of the tehbazaari,” he says.
That the site for the proposed tehbazaari is at Shastri Park has not gone down too well either with the fraternity. It is at a great distance from old Delhi, their usual haunt. Hanif, who has got a permit in Shastri Park, feels, “It would have been better if the office had been in Chandni Chowk or some nearby area. We have to leave a day's work to visit the office now.”
The tongawallahs, who earn a meagre Rs.300-400 daily, a sizable chunk of which goes in the upkeep of their horse, feel they won't be able to earn the same amount as vendors.
Then there are those who rent their tongas every day, who are wondering what the new system holds for them. They don't know if they would get any financial assistance from MCD to get into another business.
Bhagwat, who has been driving a tonga for 40 years, has a more emotional take. “I haven't received my tehbazari permit yet, but even if I get it I won't take up the job.” He wants to keep the job he has been doing for the last so many decades.
However, given the MCD's determination to see its plan through, it seems the tongas, which had once been integral to the city, lending it a character, may soon become a mere imprint of memory for Dilliwallahs.
