Next time you see an auto-rickshaw painted in vibrant colours on city roads, you will know it has a woman driver.
As part of the drive to beautify the city and its surroundings, it has been decided to paint the ‘she autos’ in hues of the rainbow.
Jaipur-based Himanshu Jangid, a vintage car restorer and founder and CEO of United Restorations, has been roped in for the job by the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) officials.
Mr. Jangid hosted a three-day ‘Cartist’, an automobile art exhibition, on the PWD Ground here primarily to propagate the concept of automobile art in support of the local artists. As part of the show, he also engaged a group of local artists who painted local themes on one of the vehicles, which is part of the current caravan. Impressed by his work and the philosophy behind it, the local authorities invited him along with his group to lend his expertise to the cause of artists in Amaravati.
‘Cartist’ yatra
“I have a fad for restoring vintage cars which are generally preferred by a premium segment of people. The idea of promoting art through automobile sector struck me and I wasted no time in planning the first ever ‘Cartist’ yatra from Jaipur,” Mr. Jangid told The Hindu . He started out on a ‘Cartist’ yatra on November 4 from Jaipur. The itinerary includes halts at Ahmedabad at Sabarmati river front, Mumbai (Kala Ghoda), Pune (Agriculture College), Hyderabad (City College), Kolkata and Chandigarh before culminating in New Delhi.
Breaking away from the itinerary, Mr. Jangid descended on Amaravati . Even while he talked about this project, a group of artists were busy covering cars, two-wheelers and tankers in bright colours. “We will leave behind this 40-feet container,” he said pointing to a large vessel with words ‘I Love Amaravathi’ written artistically on it. “This will become a selfie point in art galleries, a gesture to support local artists,” said Mr. Jangid. He said his team would paint about 20 ‘she autos’ before leaving the city.
The ‘Cartist’ caravan has been moving from one place to the other making an exhibition of painted cars, auto rickshaws and two-wheelers on the road, covering approximately 9,100 km across the country. It comprises a group of artists, two shipping containers carrying paintings, scooters, car art installations, sculptures, artefacts and art supplies.
