The bullock cart is among the earliest known means of transportation. It followed in the wake of agriculture, domestication of animals – oxen, donkeys and horses – and the invention of the wheel.

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In India the earliest references to the bullock cart go back to the Vedic era. It was the standard mode of transportation of merchandise and people for a very long period up until independence when it slowly began to give way to engineered highways and mechanized public and private transportation systems. 

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Still, until a decade or so ago it was not very hard to find bullock carts in most states of the country. Of late, however, they are becoming rare sightings upon off beat country roads reserved for a few lucky eyes. It will not be very long from now when the bullock cart will become a relic from the past to be viewed only in museums and Wikipedia photo galleries.

 

The Evolve Back resorts, being located in rural parts of southern India, still remain destinations where you could yet catch a glimpse of this ancient mode of animal powered transportation that has served generations of Indians going back to the dawn of its civilisational beginnings. At the Kuruba safari lodge in Kabini there is a ritual that many guests look forward to. This is a curated bullock cart ride along the shores of the Kabini reservoir offered by a local from the village nearby who is very likely to be the last of his generation to pilot a bullock cart and offer rides on them. Take it when you are here next time. It is an unusual experience that will soon become just a memory to reside forever only in your minds or in the photo galleries of your phones.

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