Entrepreneur rides dream, builds Rs 8 lakh teak wood bullock cart

SS Margabandhu, who is in the business of weaving silk sarees at Onnupuram village, created a minor ripple in and around his hometown, located about 25 km from Vellore, when he drove his new bullock cart made of teak wood and costing Rs 8 lakh on October 19 (Vijayadasami). The cart was drawn by a pair bulls newly purchased from Kangeyam. They were bought at a cost of Rs 3 lakh.

Speaking to DT Next, Margabandhu said, “I wanted to realise my childhood dream of having a top-notch cart drawn by a fine pair of bulls. Though I had money to buy or build such a cart, it was hard to find carpenters who were experienced in making what I wanted.”

Margabandhu’s four-year search for making the bullock cart ended some months ago at Salem where he spent Rs 8 lakh to make the teak wood cart.

Once the cart was ready, his next job was to get the bulls and so he started his search again. Subsequently, he was able to purchase the two young bulls from Pachur village in Karur district.

The bulls were yoked to the cart and Margabandhu realised his dream by driving his ‘toy’ for the first time on Vijayadasami as the day was considered auspicious. However, the cart has been kept in a shed now, as the bulls were too young for regular work. “It will take another six to seven months before the bulls are ready to draw the cart full time,” said Prakasam, Margabandhu’s son.

Asked whether his father relied on the cart for travelling, Prakasam said, “We have carts and two wheelers. But the cart is his childhood dream and he has realised it now.” Perhaps, this is Marganabdhu’s way of contributing to a clean environment.