Pakistan Painted Trucks, Indigenous Street Art
Traditional Transport in the Indus Valley, Decorated Vehicles
Aug 19, 2009
Decorated transport in the Indus valley has long been a flamboyant expression of popular culture. Tassels and garlands, lucky charms and embroidered silks adorned the camel caravans heading across the desert and the donkeys plodding up into the hills.
In the days of the British Raj, local artists were hired to embellished horse drawn carriages for the new gentry. Later, they transferred their traditional skills to freight and passenger vehicles, the new kings of the road. Pakistan truck painting turned into a commercial venture in the 1950s and is akin in some ways to western contemporary street art.
Traditional Transport in the Indus Valley, Decorated Vehicles
Travelling in the Indus valley is fraught with hazards and anyone braving the vertiginous roads or inhospitable deserts welcomes protection. The more auspicious symbols displayed on a vehicle, the safer it is for those packed in the back or hanging from the doors. When the Kohistan Bus Company began decorating their vehicles in the 1920s, it was a cunning move to attract custom and beat the burgeoning competition.
Others soon followed. Passengers were obviously attracted to the brightest and most auspicious looking vehicles. Traditional artists began to set up business at truck and bus stands, ready to offer their services for commissioned work. Owners are still prepared to pay large sums of money for the brightest fleet around, painted to order, to mirror their dreams and personality. Every vehicle is unique, the result of long hours of painstaking work
Pakistan Indigenous Street Art
Pakistan indigenous art has been handed down through generations. Many artists trace back their roots to sign painters or craftsmen once employed in palaces and temples. Truck painters work from templates and samples, sometimes specialising in particular sections or collaborating with metal workers. Panels are usually painted on the ground then fixed on the vehicle where finishing touches can be added.
Many truck painters claim their own signature art, among them the legendary Kafeel Bhai whose fame spread beyond the borders, both as an artist and ambidextrous cricket player.
Painted Trucks in Pakistan & Popular Culture
Most provinces have favourite materials and designs reflecting the local culture. Artists from rural Sindh specialise in camel bone trimmings, others are master wood carvers or work wonders with reflective tape or plastic as in Karachi or Rawalpindi.
Large or small, every truck is vividly painted from top to bottom, including wheels, mudguards, bumpers and mirror frames. Special attention is paid to the rear and front which sometimes looks like a glittering crown.
Designs vary from bucolic landscapes, doves and fountains to film stars, soldiers and tanks or Islamic features. Some carry messages of wisdom, such as ‘beware of lawyers’, or romantic poems addressed to the owner’s or artist’s sweetheart. Painted dashboards, paper flowers and fairy lights complete the picture.
 |
