Mystery Art, revealed!

The Mystery:

Farther back:


Here are enlargable details of its partner (similar but not identical) truck. These are water delivery trucks on Baner Road, in Pune, and I passed by their parking place frequently. When I had the camera, they were gone. When they were there, it was dark or I wasn't ready. But one day we were on foot, and they were both there.

Clicking any of these will show you a larger image.

While I was photographing the steering wheel of the second truck (the last photo I was planning to take anyway) the driver asked what I was doing. Hema spoke with him in Marathi and said I was only taking photos of the painting and art. So he smiled. He was afraid he was going to get in trouble for parking illegally, she guessed later when she explained it to me.

To see MANY more images of painted trucks, here are the photos of hundreds or thousands of other people: Google Image search for "Painted Trucks in India"

Heres a video about why people get their trucks painted in India. Why Indian Truck Drivers Get Their Trucks Painted

"With close to 8.5 million trucks plying on Indian roads, the trucking industry is India’s backbone when it comes to the supply of essential services. Indian trucks are also known for another thing — their decked up appearance! Truck drivers in India love getting their trucks decorated using vivid art and text. The body of the truck becomes a mode of expression, not only for them but for many truck artists in the country as well. VICE meets Nafees Ahmad Khan, a truck artist from Indore, a city in the central state of India, Madhya Pradesh. We also meet truck drivers stationed at Nafees’s workshop to understand why they get their trucks custom painted and what the iconography means for them."

The video shows some of the artists at work.


Other mystery art

Art of various sorts