Imagine being met by a wall of people and a humidity level of around 75% after a 15-hour flight in to Mumbai. You’re tired, you’re sweating and at that moment all you want is solitary, a bed, air conditioning and just a few of the colors you had dreamed of seeing in India. You feel despaired until you enter a taxi. It’s not just any taxi; its inside is decorated with motifs of tigers, temples, cobalt blue skies, heavenly creatures and beautiful girls in vibrant nuances of orange, red and blue. Instantly you know it’s going to be a good time. This is in fact not fiction but reality as several Indian artists have begun hand painting the insides of taxis all around the humungous city as part of the kickstarter funded Taxi Fabric Project.
As one of the most convenient forms of transport, taxi cars have become a significant social and cultural aspect of daily life in Mumbai. While drivers maintain great efforts in making sure their service stands out from the many competitors, very little attention is paid towards the cars’ aesthetic appearance as design has never been seen as a real profession and as something that can have a real impact on businesses, explained the Taxi Fabric team, which plans to “pimp up” about 30 cars in the extremely dense city, to designboom.
