The recently (re)published monograph by Jean Deloche complements his earlier research on various aspects of daily life in ancient India. A revised translation of the 1983 French original, this is an exhaustive study of all animal-drawn vehicles used on the subcontinent from the protohistoric period to the present. Deloche's thorough method, which characterizes all his work, is reflected in the broad range of material under study, including rock and miniature paintings, miniature models, stone reliefs, and early accounts by European travellers, for example Rudyard Kipling's Beast and Man in India (London, 1891) and Pierre Sonnerat's Voyage aux Indes Orientales et à la Chine (Paris, 1781), to name just two. The study is generously illustrated with line drawings and 84 photographs.

Part I discusses present-day country carts, categorizing them according to the size and build of the wheels (solid, with radial spokes or with paired cross-bars; and with a massive or a thin felloe) and according to the type of axles, supports and the body. It is interesting to see that archaic, solid-wheel carts, sometimes with stone wheels, are still being used in some parts of India, the latter particularly in the Krishna (Andhra Pradesh) and Kolar (Karnataka) districts. Further, it seems that there is a significant difference between carriages used in the northern plains and the north-west and those used in the remaining provinces, which, however, cannot easily be accounted for.

Despite its title, “Parti II: Carriages in Indian iconography”, covers a broader range of topics. It commences with a brief overview of Classical Sanskrit and Tamil texts, in which vehicles are mentioned, and it discusses, occasionally, excavated remains of ancient carriages, such as the Maurya-period wheel, now at the Patna Museum. The bulk of this section, however, consists of a minute analysis of numerous drawings, paintings, models and stone reliefs of vehicles, both bullock carts and horse carriages, dating from about the third millennium bce until the beginning of the nineteenth century. Through this survey, the author attempts to outline the development of carriages in various parts of India in order better to understand the contemporary regional differences. The final sub-section discusses carts with two shafts and four wheels, which are, surprisingly, very rarely represented in Indian art. All examples are illustrated by line drawings, some of them drawn from photographs. The decision not to use original photographs (where available), perhaps necessitated by the issue of copyright, prevents the onlooker from forming his or her own conclusions: the carvings and paintings are often small and may be interpreted in more than one way, as pointed out by the author himself. It is also to be regretted that the names of draftsmen, whose works constitute a considerable part of this study, are not mentioned.

Part III explores carriages used at the beginning of the 1900s, and the changes in their construction introduced about fifty years later as a result of the modernization of the road network by the British. The improved roads completely revolutionized the transport and caused a rapid increase of country carts in general and of the lighter carts with spoked wheels in particular. These changes especially affected peninsular India with its initially worse road conditions as compared to the north. Perhaps not surprisingly, the European-style carriages were mainly introduced in cities, while country carts meant for transporting goods remained more or less unchanged.

The volume ends with a very concise (1.5 page) conclusion, in which the author summarizes his previous observations on the differences between northern and southern India, the changes in the distribution patterns of various vehicles in several provinces over the centuries, and the existence of antique prototypes for the bullock carts used today. He concludes with a few remarks on the possible improvements to the contemporary country carts that could be implemented in the future. The study is completed with three appendices: on the development of the wheel with paired cross-bars; country carts of Bihar, Punjab and Tamil Nadu; and the use and build of palanquins.

Considering the size of the area surveyed, with its very different geographical zones and historical past, and the number of elements analysed (wheels, axles, supports and so forth), it is not surprising that the conclusions are far from straightforward. The history of carriages in India cannot apparently be reduced to a straight line, but it is rather a tangled web. Partly for this reason, Deloche's monograph is not easy to read. One feels that, unlike in some of his earlier works on cognate topics (such as, for example, La Circulation en Inde, Paris, 1980), here the plethora of data and factors obscures a little the broader context. But perhaps it is not a “book to read” at all. It is a reference book, meant to be used when necessary. With this in mind Deloche's monograph is a valuable document of some vanishing aspects of rural life in the rapidly modernizing India.

The book being a revised reprint in English, some sections have been modified and the last appendix has been added, which for sure is an asset. On the other hand, I do regret the extreme shortening (in Part I) of the discussion on timber, the draught animals and the conditions of transport. Although not resulting in a clear solution to the issue of the distribution of various types of carriages in different provinces, the discussion still contained some interesting data, which are missing here. Further, one wonders to what extent the bibliography has been updated, and likewise some of the statements: are the very archaic carts still, in 2016, used in India? Or did they make way for more modern inventions. Last but not least, the title is a little misleading, implying that the study includes motor vehicles as well, which, obviously, is not the case. Nevertheless, Deloche's book is a solid study that will certainly be of use to historians, anthropologists and art historians alike.