Bombay Taxi

"It feels like there are more taxis than private vehicles in Bombay. As I traveled to work everyday, It took over a week to suddenly realize that I was involuntarily immersing myself each day into a painfully obvious, yet hidden, colorful and maddening world while in transit. Somewhat hesitantly, I started to carry my camera along. Then as I began to photograph the vehicles, drivers, interiors, dashboards - it occurred to me that Bombay probably has the most unique breed of hired cabs in the world. From their gaudy plastered interiors to the diversity of the drivers, each trip turned out to be ridiculously memorable. At times, on other trips, I could pick out taxis I had traveled in before (something I previously thought impossible), each taxi has its own identity marks that make it stand out. I made tiny discoveries each day. For example, no auto driver I came across ever wore their shoes (i.e. chappals) while driving, instead opting to keep it by their side, constantly threatening to slip out of the cab and onto the road. I talked to most of them, some got talking to me first. Conversations about politics, travels, the city, traffic, their villages etc., whenever we approached a signal there was always something to talk about. There were arguments over fares and fights over routes but more often than not our conversation ended with a portrait. With the city grappling with an infuriating pace of change, these old ricks and rusty Padmini’s have their slow death set in stone. But what an unfortunate loss. There’s no experience like the nauseating ride through narrow pothole-ridden roads with a dangerously brave auto driver. Or trudging through the rain in a gleaming black Padmini, struggling in first gear on some of the city’s slopes - with it’s characteristic slow hum and failing brake lights. This series is an attempt to immortalize the culture of the Bombay taxi, and shine light on a world that may be soon disappearing."