Each and every taxi that roams the streets of Bombay is unique in its design and look, just like a snow flake. This is thanks to the  upholstery, dashboard altars, lights, steering wheels, vinyl stickers and the unique personality of the driver. The driver may hire the taxi from the owner everyday but in spite of not owning it, will create an alter on the dashboard in ode to his personal God or Goddess. You may see fresh flowers, small posters, silk cloths, fairy lights and other such paraphernalia decorating and bouncing on the dashboard as the taxi weaves through traffic. Each taxi is like a carrier for a God, decorated to the hilt. One of the taxis I got into even had an incense stick in a holder that was still burning since the driver had just finished his morning prayers. The unique designs and typography on the black and yellow cabs splash the city of Bombay with art, symbols and color and anyone with half an eye for design will be awed by these one of a kind taxis.

The folks at Creative Review showcased the urban art of Mumbai taxis on their April Issue cover. They made a short documentary on two of the leading ‘radium wallahs’ – artists who create vinyl sticker designs for taxis. Manohar and Samir Manohar Mistry talk about how the Mumbai taxis got their colorful stickers, the process and context. So after encountering the Creative Review issue and the incredible taxis themselves, I was keen on exploring this lesser known art form for this project.

The stickers that were created by Akram and his brother, replaced the stickers on the taxi driven by taxi driver Salim. The pictures below document the story behind the making of the stickers. This image of the taxi has been used to create business cards, stickers and even the earlier banner for this site. As this taxi roams the streets of Bombay advertising this projects URL on it’s mirror…..the same image has been appropriated and been used for the distribution.

If you’d like a sticker – send me a mail and I’ll mail you some to stick in your city! So spread the word about The Taxi Takes. Spread the word because talking about terrorism is the only way to overcome divisions and create harmony giving the terrorists nothing to work with.