![[Photos] The bright and colourful world of vehicle art in South Asia](https://sc0.blr1.digitaloceanspaces.com/large/691806-52840b2c-a1ae-4f5e-8e10-3812dbfbfbd9.jpg)
Away from the monochromic world of political confabulations at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit lie the colourful links that tie the neighbourhood together. The cultural seams can be seen everywhere in the region, even in the love for vehicle art.
Many photographers have travelled around South Asia, documenting the famed psychedelic adornments on the cargo and jingle trucks of Pakistan and India and the cycle rickshaws in Bangladesh. The “peace rickshaws” in Pakistan “re-own the romanticized art form from hateful campaigning and use it as a tool for instigating a culture of peace and tolerance in Karachi”.
Here are a few examples of the floral patterns, the creative and customised decorations.
India’s cargo trucks form a subgenre of the art. They are covered with religious figures, slogans, motifs and elaborate designs. Across the border in Nepal, the semi-trucks occupy a similar space. Pakistan’s jingle trucks, the flatbed trucks that move between Afghanistan and Pakistan, get their name from the sound made by the chimes dangling all over them.
In Pakistan as in India, auto rickshaws serve as a canvas and a billboard, fulfilling creative and advertising functions. These “peace rickshaws” were decked out by the Pakistan Youth Alliance to challenge the jihadist discourse.
In Bangladesh, the cycle rickshaw is at the heart of public transport. Colourful decorations on rickshaws began emerging around the 1950s. In recent times, they have become the symbol of the country’s design and arts. About 500,000 rickshaws ply in Bangladesh every day.
In Sri Lanka too, a distinct style of design on buses, trucks and autorickshaws flourishes.
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Many photographers have travelled around South Asia, documenting the famed psychedelic adornments on the cargo and jingle trucks of Pakistan and India and the cycle rickshaws in Bangladesh. The “peace rickshaws” in Pakistan “re-own the romanticized art form from hateful campaigning and use it as a tool for instigating a culture of peace and tolerance in Karachi”.
Here are a few examples of the floral patterns, the creative and customised decorations.
A truck in the heartland of India
Picture credit: rawveganani.tumblr.com via Pinterest
Pakistan Suzuki truck
Picture credit: Wikimedia Commons
Truck in Afghanistan
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Bhutanese truck
Picture credit: http://downundertothetopoftheworld.blogspot.in/
India’s cargo trucks form a subgenre of the art. They are covered with religious figures, slogans, motifs and elaborate designs. Across the border in Nepal, the semi-trucks occupy a similar space. Pakistan’s jingle trucks, the flatbed trucks that move between Afghanistan and Pakistan, get their name from the sound made by the chimes dangling all over them.
Photo credit: http://yaksandyetis.wordpress.com/
In Pakistan as in India, auto rickshaws serve as a canvas and a billboard, fulfilling creative and advertising functions. These “peace rickshaws” were decked out by the Pakistan Youth Alliance to challenge the jihadist discourse.
Photo credits: Pakistan Youth Alliance via Facebook
In Bangladesh, the cycle rickshaw is at the heart of public transport. Colourful decorations on rickshaws began emerging around the 1950s. In recent times, they have become the symbol of the country’s design and arts. About 500,000 rickshaws ply in Bangladesh every day.
Photo credit: craftandtravel.wordpress.com
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
In Sri Lanka too, a distinct style of design on buses, trucks and autorickshaws flourishes.
Photo credit: cerno via Flickr