Get ready for a designer ride

Using gramophones, colours of Bollywood and inspiration from the clean lines of a paper plane - fashion designers have designed rickshaws to give visitors a fancy ride during the Commonwealth Games.

Imagine taking a ride on a cycle rickshaw which has a telephone, gramophone and clocks of three different time zones for your convenience. Not only this, the seat and hood, made up of silk with gold works will give you a royal feel. This is no ordinary transport but a designer's prized creation as these humble rickshaws have undergone a much needed facelift to ply visitors during the upcoming Common Wealth Games.

These fancy rickshaws were recently showcased in the Capital. Designer Samant Chauhan's rickshaw Victoria on wheels aims to recreate the magic of British era. Explained he, "If you look into the history you would find that the British were very fond of this medium of transport. So, I have used antics from the colonial period like gramophone and telephone on two sides of the passenger seat to give passengers the feel of the bygone era. The backside of the seat has three watches that showcase the timings of three different countries (South Africa, London and Sydney). The rickshaw has also a lamp at the front." He added, "The unique thing about the telephone is that it will only be functional on the move and many service providers are willing to provide their connection." The designer has also taken into account the adversities of rising temperatures. "The reason I have incorporated recycled silk," he said.

Designer duo Rahul and Gunjan titled their creation, Ghungroo ki awaz, which they said took just three days to design it to perfection. Inspired from the 1980's chartbuster Ghungroo ki awaz, their designer rickshaw has ghungroo fitted all over the body. The wheels have pink and green beads and peddles have kolhapuri chappal fitted in it. The hood has moon and stars drawn from inside and the outside has peacock feathers pasted on it. "When we were designing it we had only one thing in our mind that we will try to show people for things that our country is famous for. So, we have selected Bollywood as the main inspiration and rest of the materials such as pea-cock feather, ghungroo, kolhapuri chappal followed one after other," said Rahul.

The duo has also taken special care of passenger comfort. "We have provided cushions also on the seats to have a comfortable journey. The materials which we have used are all natural fibres such as cotton and linen as our moto behind designing this mode of transport is to go green," said Rahul adding that he love traveling in a rickshaw rides but unable to enjoy as they are banned in most of the places. The duo now aims to design a bus.

Taking inspiration from the paper planes made by the kids, designer Nitin Bal Chauhan has designed his cycle rickshaw light so that it can be easily pulled while ferrying. His rickshaw is coloured white, all from the seat to the hood. "The white colour will automatically generate a light feeling among the pullers. I have prepared this rickshaw right from scratch. I have designed this paper weight rickshaw with an error dynamic shape keeping in mind the plight of the rickshaw puller. I have also provided a basket for them to keep their belongings. Also provided a metal foot stand for the passenger," said Chauhan, who never misses a chance to hitch a rickshaw ride whenever he visits Old Delhi.

Instead of just giving it a plastic makeover, designer Rajesh Pratap Singh focussed on improving the technical aspects of his rickshaw. He coloured it in white with red seat to give it a classy look. For example, he used shockers under the seat to give the passengers a bump free ride. Also, there is a rear view mirror which others don't have.