TRUCK ART OF PAKISTAN, AND MAHIRA KHAN - CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL
Two decades ago I was working for an American owner. He had a GM Operations ( a Sikh ) who took lot of sadistic pleasure ( in the email era ) to put as many abbreviations as possible in the long voyage orders.
And to make things worse , he used to omit AEIOU vowels . This was all right in the morse code era, to keep radio officer on his toes and to save money . But in the email era you don't save any money and if you do that you are a dork. Young masters used to go into a tizzy when they received such a message from the GM, as they did NOT want to appear incompetent.
Punch into Google search ABBREVIATIONS ON CHEMICAL TANKERS- VADAKAYIL, where I put a small percentage of it.
So once when I replied I put PYTNK under my signature.
So one day curiosity overtook the Sardarjee and he asked me, Captain could you please tell me what is PVTNK.
So I replied " Yaar, I have given you a abbreviation from your neck of the woods. I have seen Punjabi trucks having logos like:
SOUND HORN OK
PAPPU YAAR TANGH NA KAR ( Pappu buddy, dont fu#k around with me )
BUREE NAZAR WAALE TERA MOONH KAALA .( Ye with evil eyes, here is some black soot for your fu#kin' face )
In Pakistan I have seen several more hilarious ones-- rather more profound ones , like:--
DEKH MAGAR PYAR SE ( ye may look, but only with love )
MEHNAT KAR HASSAD NA KAR ( work , don't be jealous )
MA KI DUA JANNAT KE HAWA ( blessings from mother, is like breeze from heaven )
etc etc
When I went to Pakistan nearly 4 decades ago, the truck which I saw were all garishly decorated with "Truck art"-- literally a cacophony of colors. It jarred your senses.
Calligraphy was hard to understand. They had corny graffitti, like " My truck is my space ship and I am its lone occupant ". The art was basically hallucinating escapism from harsh reality.
A few months ago when my ship went to Karachi, I noted the marked change in truck art. It was almost like mehndi art on the hands of a Indian bride.
I have a tattoo myself. I love mE stupid tattoo, and I don't care if anybody else appreciates it or not. For me it is about a feel good factor.
Truck art of Pakistan is like personal tattoos. The only difference is that it is on a truck. It is MENTAL FINGER PRINTING or mann ka tamanna.
Dreams and hopes , instead of aesthetic culture is what i can see--as a man who can read the subconscious.. And if the art can catch the glad eye of a pretty lass on the road, why not?
The art is talismanic too, probably warding off evil. Flowers, exotic animals, hawkish birds, fighter jets, defiant clenched arms with barbed wire around the beeling wrists, waterfalls, Umrao Jaan type bejewelled mujra girls with pouting red lips, local warlords with AK47s, --
-- among other delightful trinkets--
- all find space among tiny mirror mosaic glinting in the sun or sweeping headlights , plus swinging chains on the bumper, which kiss the road while sashaying.
The driver, takes pride in the art. The owner of a new truck will spend a lot of money to customize the truck with truck art. Most of the time he will let the driver, choose what he wants, to develop a sense of belonging.
For the owner it makes sense if the truck driver is in platonic love with his truck. The truck art will give a general idea which Pakistani district it is from. So at a roadside Dhaba ( restaurant ) it is easy to bond with another truck driver.
On top of the drivers cabin, a huge helipad type deck is made , for the truck driver and cleaner to sleep, watching the stars , with the breeze blowing past-- in total privacy.
They could even smuggle a bonny lass on top for a tete e tete , without fear of peeping toms and prying eyes. It is so easy to get into "breaking news" nowadays.
Considering most truck drivers spend more time in the truck than at home, it makes good sense. And of course it is all extra storage space, at the truck drivers disposal, in case he wants to do some private business of his own, without broken stowage.
The art is highly labour intensive and expensive. I saw a Pakistani movie BOL, where the hermaphrodite brother Saifi of the unmarried sisters , tried his hand at truck art to earn some money , and then all hell broke loose.
This low budget movie BOL is eminently watchable. I saw it twice.
The old man acting as Hakim ( Manzar Sehbai ) should have been given an award. He showed the meaning of fighting with inner demons. Real acting is subtle, there is no place for melodrama.
.jpg)
And Mahira Khan ( Ayesha )-- boy-- she is indeed sensuous, bubbly and attractive, with a live face. Beautiful porcelain females (some like dead fish ), need NOT be attractive and sensuous.
Mahira Khan does NOT even put make up , tonnes of kaajol and mascara , lipstick or pluck her eyebrows. She sports that delightful disheveled look. Almond eyes, full lips--- have you seen the way most Western women inject plastic into their upper lip ?
She does NOT need it.
Enjoy the video below--
More power to them kings of the road!
CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL
..
Two decades ago I was working for an American owner. He had a GM Operations ( a Sikh ) who took lot of sadistic pleasure ( in the email era ) to put as many abbreviations as possible in the long voyage orders.
And to make things worse , he used to omit AEIOU vowels . This was all right in the morse code era, to keep radio officer on his toes and to save money . But in the email era you don't save any money and if you do that you are a dork. Young masters used to go into a tizzy when they received such a message from the GM, as they did NOT want to appear incompetent.
Punch into Google search ABBREVIATIONS ON CHEMICAL TANKERS- VADAKAYIL, where I put a small percentage of it.
So once when I replied I put PYTNK under my signature.
So one day curiosity overtook the Sardarjee and he asked me, Captain could you please tell me what is PVTNK.
So I replied " Yaar, I have given you a abbreviation from your neck of the woods. I have seen Punjabi trucks having logos like:
SOUND HORN OK
PAPPU YAAR TANGH NA KAR ( Pappu buddy, dont fu#k around with me )
BUREE NAZAR WAALE TERA MOONH KAALA .( Ye with evil eyes, here is some black soot for your fu#kin' face )
In Pakistan I have seen several more hilarious ones-- rather more profound ones , like:--
DEKH MAGAR PYAR SE ( ye may look, but only with love )
MEHNAT KAR HASSAD NA KAR ( work , don't be jealous )
MA KI DUA JANNAT KE HAWA ( blessings from mother, is like breeze from heaven )
etc etc
When I went to Pakistan nearly 4 decades ago, the truck which I saw were all garishly decorated with "Truck art"-- literally a cacophony of colors. It jarred your senses.
Calligraphy was hard to understand. They had corny graffitti, like " My truck is my space ship and I am its lone occupant ". The art was basically hallucinating escapism from harsh reality.
A few months ago when my ship went to Karachi, I noted the marked change in truck art. It was almost like mehndi art on the hands of a Indian bride.
I have a tattoo myself. I love mE stupid tattoo, and I don't care if anybody else appreciates it or not. For me it is about a feel good factor.
Truck art of Pakistan is like personal tattoos. The only difference is that it is on a truck. It is MENTAL FINGER PRINTING or mann ka tamanna.
Dreams and hopes , instead of aesthetic culture is what i can see--as a man who can read the subconscious.. And if the art can catch the glad eye of a pretty lass on the road, why not?
The art is talismanic too, probably warding off evil. Flowers, exotic animals, hawkish birds, fighter jets, defiant clenched arms with barbed wire around the beeling wrists, waterfalls, Umrao Jaan type bejewelled mujra girls with pouting red lips, local warlords with AK47s, --
-- among other delightful trinkets--
- all find space among tiny mirror mosaic glinting in the sun or sweeping headlights , plus swinging chains on the bumper, which kiss the road while sashaying.
The driver, takes pride in the art. The owner of a new truck will spend a lot of money to customize the truck with truck art. Most of the time he will let the driver, choose what he wants, to develop a sense of belonging.
For the owner it makes sense if the truck driver is in platonic love with his truck. The truck art will give a general idea which Pakistani district it is from. So at a roadside Dhaba ( restaurant ) it is easy to bond with another truck driver.
On top of the drivers cabin, a huge helipad type deck is made , for the truck driver and cleaner to sleep, watching the stars , with the breeze blowing past-- in total privacy.
They could even smuggle a bonny lass on top for a tete e tete , without fear of peeping toms and prying eyes. It is so easy to get into "breaking news" nowadays.
Considering most truck drivers spend more time in the truck than at home, it makes good sense. And of course it is all extra storage space, at the truck drivers disposal, in case he wants to do some private business of his own, without broken stowage.
The art is highly labour intensive and expensive. I saw a Pakistani movie BOL, where the hermaphrodite brother Saifi of the unmarried sisters , tried his hand at truck art to earn some money , and then all hell broke loose.
This low budget movie BOL is eminently watchable. I saw it twice.
The old man acting as Hakim ( Manzar Sehbai ) should have been given an award. He showed the meaning of fighting with inner demons. Real acting is subtle, there is no place for melodrama.
.jpg)
And Mahira Khan ( Ayesha )-- boy-- she is indeed sensuous, bubbly and attractive, with a live face. Beautiful porcelain females (some like dead fish ), need NOT be attractive and sensuous.
Mahira Khan does NOT even put make up , tonnes of kaajol and mascara , lipstick or pluck her eyebrows. She sports that delightful disheveled look. Almond eyes, full lips--- have you seen the way most Western women inject plastic into their upper lip ?
She does NOT need it.
Enjoy the video below--
More power to them kings of the road!
Grace and peace!
CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL
..
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