Postcard from Pakistan: Pimp My Truck

Even though the air-conditioning is on full blast the blaze of the midday sun is draining me and making my eyelids heavy. I look out the window and stare at a peacock. I blink again. As the truck moves along a slideshow of motifs pass me by: a lake, more colourful birds and then two very stern eyes that stare at me as the truck chugs on through the heaving afternoon traffic in Karachi.

Against the backdrop of sandy coloured buildings truck art keeps the clogged roads of Karachi colourful for its brave commuters. Modes of transport are known for being cultural icons of a city from Manhattan’s yellow cabs to London’s red double-decker buses. Whereas advertisements adorn yellow cabs and red buses only in specific cities, truck art can be found on transport vehicles all over Pakistan.

What is truck art? To give you a starting point, think ‘pimp my ride’ but Pakistan style: it combines cultural history and tradition, storytelling and passion. Take a truck built by Ford, General Motors or Hino-Pak, give it to a truck artist called Ali and six weeks later and about $2000 down ‘hey presto!’ you get a retro-psychedelic customised truck with your favourite movie star on the back or a line from your favourite poem written on the side declaring to the world you are a hopeless romantic (see photo left).

Truck art is a legacy from the days of the British Raj when bus companies decided to decorate their vehicles to attract more customers. Although the art doesn’t serve that purpose anymore it is a tradition that is deeply ingrained in Pakistani culture. Other countries like the Philippines and Indonesia as well as in South and Central America also have similar art on vehicles but it seems nowhere is it quite so prevalent and intricate as in Pakistan.

For more about Pakistani truck art see below:

http://pakistaniat.com/2008/06/18/pakistans-indigenous-truck-art/

http://www3.amherst.edu/~jjelias/truck_site/trucks.html

http://weburbanist.com/2008/11/22/truck-art-asia-pakistan/

Photo truck

Photo peacock

Photo poetry

The views expressed by the author are personal.