Photo Feature: Bombay’s Love Affair With the ‘Kaali Peeli’ Padmini

No social history of Mumbai is complete without a classic kaali-peeli Padmini, and this series does justice to it.

Glasgow-born Dougie Wallace spent four years photographing the taxis that became synonymous with the daily bustle of rising Bombay. (Photo Courtesy: Dougie Wallace)

Nothing quite captures the essence of Bombay or Mumbai (depending on how cosmopolitan you are) like the kaali-peelis of the city; the yellow and black taxi cabs furnished with unique prints, posters of Bhai and Sridevi and idols of Ganpati.

These cabs make their presence felt for anyone living in the city for more than a week; first, because of the sheer force of nostalgia and intrigue at seeing a 1960s Premier Padmini drive past you, with the windows rolled down and some Marathi song you can’t fathom; and second, because when the city is drowning in its unforgiving rains, and the Ubers and the Olas are busy exploiting the sacred principle of competitive markets, your only option is a kaali-peeli with its all-knowing driver.

For our Quint Lens feature, we showcase the refreshing and bold work of Dougie Wallace, a Glasgow-based photographer who traveled to India 18 times, for a week each time, to capture the bite-sized Mumbai found in each one of these cabs in his project Road Wallah. Between the personalisation of the cab and the personalities of the commuters, each picture is distinctly of and from this city; you’ll have to see it to believe it. Wallace’s work is currently being exhibited at Gayfield Creative Spaces, Edinburgh.

A cab owner and driver rests in his Padmini while waiting for commuters. (Photo Courtesy: Dougie Wallace)

A kaali-peeli rolls by slowly in a crowded Mohammad Ali Road, complete with pedestrians, two-wheelers, shops and shoppers, and laborers. (Photo Courtesy: Dougie Wallace)

Wallace rarely shies away from having his subjects look directly into his lens – a theme followed through most of his projects, including documenting stag parties and the life of the wealthy. (Photo Courtesy: Dougie Wallace)

A cab driver looks on while stuck in traffic as another cab patiently waits – albeit with horns blaring. (Photo Courtesy: Dougie Wallace)

You can almost hear Mumbai inside this cab: loud, populous, happy and always moving from point A to point B. (Photo Courtesy: Dougie Wallace)

These photos were shot in the half an hour long window between 5:30 PM and 6 PM, when the light is soft enough, and the traffic is crazy enough to capture the kaali-peeli genuinely. (Photo Courtesy: Dougie Wallace)

These cabs numbered up to 60,000 in the 1960s when they were inaugurated. Following stricter pollution norms, increase in personal ownership of vehicles and services like Uber and Ola, only a few are left on the streets of Mumbai. (Photo Courtesy: Dougie Wallace)

A cab driver smiles for Wallace in the midst of traffic while his young passenger waits to proceed on his journey. (Photo Courtesy: Dougie Wallace)

A family looks at Wallace who shot this entire series with a flashgun and his camera, often going very close to the windshield to fill the frame. (Photo Courtesy: Dougie Wallace)

A passenger looks on as Wallace clicks this eccentrically-furnished taxi. (Photo Courtesy: Dougie Wallace)

Wallace breaks the fourth wall and how! By having his subject look directly into the frame, Wallace goes against the fad of candid photo-documentation. (Photo Courtesy: Dougie Wallace)

(All pictures belong to the photographer and have been taken from Dougie Wallace/Portfolio)

Quint Lens is a selection of the most vivid imagery created by our in-house pool of talent, and from across the web, created and curated with an eye on that Quintessential twist. In this section, you can find some of the most refreshing camera and mobile photography documenting current news events, the history and everyday culture of India and the world, heartbreaking stories that can only be conveyed through pictures, celebrations and revolutions; basically, anything that simply needs to be CliQed!