Transports of Delight : The Ricksha Arts of Bangladesh

Combining over 1,000 brilliantly coloured photographs, videos, music, and text, this CD-ROM documents a distinctive folk art of urban Bangladesh.

The owners of rickshas (conventionally known as "rickshaws" in English) personalize their vehicles with elaborate paintings that incorporate geometric motifs, drawings of animals, mythic and religious themes, and pictures of movie stars.

Ricksha art is an expression of the fondest desires in men's hearts-for wealth, sex, power, one's village home, religious blessings, and consumer goods.

Joanna Kirkpatrick has photographed these vehicles for more than 20 years, cataloging styles and motifs.

Her study becomes a window on Bangladesh culture and religion, as she examines the questions posed by pictorial representation in a Muslim society.

Thanks to Transports of Delight, general audiences interested in South Asian folk art and aficionados of pedicabs around the world will join scholars and students of Bangladesh on an enjoyable and informative journey.

Transports of Delight requires a PC or Macintosh system capable of displaying 16 bit color at 800x600 and running Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher. Video segments require a Pentium II, G3, or higher processor and a 4x CD-ROM drive.