Lahore, Pakistan | Feb. 24, 2026, 12:11 p.m. ET | 4 min read

No sooner has the motorized purple rickshaw turned into the alleyway than a girl in a headscarf begins to run from door to door.

“Come outside!” she shouts, with a jump and a skip.

Within moments, the vehicle with a unicorn and a dragon painted on its back is surrounded by neighborhood children.

Rickshaws are a ubiquitous sight in Lahore, a sprawling Pakistani metropolis of 13 million people. Whether parked in alleys or wobbling through bazaars, they form an essential part of the city’s chaos. But with the arrival of this particular rickshaw in Bihari Ahata – a working-class neighborhood in Lahore’s teeming center – Alif Laila Book Bus Society announces itself with unusual aplomb.

When the driver opens the back door, the reason for the children’s delight becomes clear.…