Motion Pictures

Transports of delight: those magnificent men and their moving art galleries. Mera Bharat Mahaan.

ALL ACROSS northern Indiaroam merrily the most eclec-ticart galleries. Wall-less, andin perpetual motion, these behe-mothsrepresent a unique culturalgrab bag created by a class of artistsone finds only in the numerouskhokas or temporary shacks on theGrand Trunk Road.

Trucks from Punjab, HimachalPradesh and Haryana line up atManimajra, on the outskirts ofChandigarh, to be decked from topto bottom with landscapes, por-traits,religious icons, and poeticwisecracks. Walk the alleys conse-cratedto Truck Art, and you8217;ll meet14-year old Shinda, busy sketchingthe outline of a cow and a calf on thediscarded fender of an old car. He8217;sbeen directed to infuse life into theloving scene. In a few minutes, hisustaad will judge his performance.

Meanwhile, Shinda8217;s guru BablaShah is figuring out what truck dri-verSantokh Singh means when hedemands a mukhda chann varga, amoon-like face. This celestial visageon his cabin8217;s side panel will travelwith him across Rajasthan.

Shah and his ilk enjoy cult statusamong drivers. For it takes a Shah totransmigrate the untamed ideas ofdrivers like Santokh onto an immacu-latelypainted plank of wood thatwill adorn the truck. He mixesver and the owner. 8220;At times, ownersspend as much as they would haveto do up their house,8221; says Shah. Buthe refuses to reveal any numbers.

8220;All trucks with upto six wheelsare the jenana or feminine trucksand the ones with eight or more, aremardana or masculine. Mine is a je-nana;I love her more than my wife,8221;says Santokh. Hence the dreamy-eyedmaiden with a mirror in herhand on the panel above the rear-viewmirror. A bunch of bangles8212;symbolic of a just-married wo-man8212;hangs over the windshield.With the door insides and the crownof the cabin exquisitely carved, mir-rorworkon all sides, the cabin is aminiature sheesh mahal. 8220;Only thefortunate get to be seated on the dri-ver8217;sseat,8221; grins Santokh.

8220;Truck art represents populargrassroot art in its most mesmeris-ingform,8221; says painter Sanjay Bhat-tacharya.8220;It8217;s as enchanting as anyother form of rural art, say mudhouse painting or rangoli.8221; He feelstruck painters need to be encour-agedmore by contemporary artists,who have a lot to learn from them.

It is a classic example of func-tionalart, says artist Vikash Kulka-rni:8220;The function of their art is todecorate as well as protect the truckfrom the vagaries of weather. Thefact that they sign their names under resins, varnish, flourescent coloursand pigments to produce a coatingthat glows in the dark. 8220;A truck trav-elsthrough all imaginable terrains.

Story continues below this ad

But my paintings never fade. Theyonly vanish with the death of the en-gineor the chassis,8221; boasts Shah.Who decides what images shallbeautify the truck? 8220;The driver. Hehas the strongest say. The ownermerely pays the bill.8221; But the truck8217;slooks are important to the ownertoo. Chances of getting hired are en-hancedif you have a nicely paintedvehicle. It adds credibility to the dri-every lotus or lion they paint, showsthey take a lot of pride in their work.8221;

But why do they paint the samething over and over again? 8220;LikeMadhubani, their art has a uniqueconsonance,8221; feels Kulkarni. 8220;Thishas been passed on from guru toshishya, over generations.8221;Meanwhile, Ustaad Babla Shahinspects what Shinda has made outof the milk-suckling scene. A mo-ment8217;sthought; then he instructsthe boy to draw the calf a wee bitcloser to the mother, to reflect thematernal instinct more strongly.