February 18, 2009

The "Eye"- Pakistan truck painting

Location: Gilgit, Pakistan (35° 55' 0 N 74° 17' 60 E)
Date: 27 June 2007; 1.15pm
Camera: Canon 400D with Sigma 17-70/f2.8-4.5

Trucks in Pakistan are often painted with dazzling arrays of images in a kaleidoscope of colours. These images could be landscapes, mythical figures, religious verses, portraits or calligraphic poetry. Every panels of a truck- the sides, back, doors or front- could be adorned by such paintings. Some of these paintings are painted for luck, protection or to stand-out among the crowd. Truck painting is peculiar to Pakistan- one do not see such a phenomena in other South Asian countries such as India or Afghanistan. Such trucks are truly masterpieces on four wheels.

2 comments:

Karachi Hotel Booking said...

Well, the paintings on Pakistani trucks is indeed very unique and elegant which shows the different colors of our culture and speaks of the creativity of the craftsmen.

mediamonk said...

Actually, truck painting is very common in India. At least in the north where I've been... It's still an awesome sight though... :-)