Monday, March 22, 2010

shringaar


hypnotic self-referential auto rickshaw headlights
also another example of the kind of typified, cliched imagery of women seen in indian public spaces
always the kajal, bindi, nose ring, lipstick, and in some cases even ghoonghat as seen in the local trains' second class women's compartment...


then there are those coy, pining women on the backs of trucks, and considering all indian transport graphics are designed by men, you'd think the average indian man's ultimate female fantasy was a shy made-up woman who keeps her head down and covered. hah! compare this with the slew of b-grade porn movie posters you see on the back walls of mankhurd or chembur station as the train pulls in and you know what a laugh this imagery is.

it's often said indian men will date one kind of woman and marry another. well, the movie poster women are behind dark, grimy walls while the shy, coy women are splayed all over our trains and trucks and auto rickshaws. i guess the proof is in the artwork.

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