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.
(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!
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