This is a hand-held brass bell bought from a rickshaw puller in Kolkata, India.
It is difficult for the Kolkata rickshaw men to quickly change direction when pulling a passenger or other load, particularly through narrow streets, so they use the bells to alert pedestrians that they are passing through.
The distinctive sound of the bells is quite familiar to residents of areas of the city where the rickshaws still operate, and they instinctively step slightly to one side if they hear a series sharp rings close by.
