Honour for man who drove Tirur’s last bullock cart

For nearly four decades, Ahmed Bava Thekkepeediyekkal drove bullock carts through narrow roads and village paths around Tirur, carrying rice, coconut oil, betel leaves, areca nuts, copra and other essentials to places that larger vehicles could not reach.

On Sunday (September 13, 2026), 77-year-old Bava, the region’s last bullock-cart driver, was felicitated as a living link to a bygone era.

Re-Echo, a cultural and environmental organisation based at Tirunavaya, honoured Bava as part of its 36th anniversary celebrations. The felicitation was held under its ‘Nattinte naal vazhikal’ programme, which honours people who were part of traditions and events that have since faded from everyday life.

Bava, from Kunnumpuram, Edakkulam, began driving bullock carts when he was just seven. He continued until he was 42, spending more than 35 years behind the reins.

In those days, bullock carts linked Tirur with surrounding villages, carrying goods brought by boat along the Tirur river and by goods trains to the interior areas.

The carts navigated narrow, difficult roads, carrying coconut oil, copra, betel leaves, and areca nuts to places including Annassery, Thalakkadathur, Athavanad, and Thuvvakkad.

“Tirunavaya had more bullock carts than Tirur,” remembered Bava. They carried tiles from the Kodakkal tile factory to various destinations and the tile yard near Tirunavaya Railway Station.

Operating a bullock cart required a panchayat licence. A thali or number plate had to be fixed to the cart. Failure to park at designated cart stands could invite a fine of 50 paise, he recalled.

The work was modestly paid. The fare for carrying 50 kg of rice was ₹2.50, while transporting a tin of coconut oil earned ₹2.

Bava remembers buying healthy bullocks from the cattle markets at Perumbilavu and Vaniyankulam. A bullock was normally used for cart work for no more than two years. Maintaining the animals and the cart was a regular expense, he said.

The arrival of mini-lorries and goods autorickshaws eventually ended the bullock carts’ role in local transport.

Motor Vehicle Inspector Surpil Mohammed Ashraf felicitated Bava in the presence of Re-Echo president Poovathingal Rasheed. Mamankam Memorial Trust chairman C.P.M. Haris presented a memento. Ward member Velladath Raseena gave him a book on Tirunavaya history. Mamankam trustee Chirakkal Umer introduced Bava.

Several others, including M.K. Satheesh Babu, Latheef Kuttippuram, and T.P. Haneefa, spoke at the event.