Indian street photography ambassador

When it comes to India's most famous "historical model", most people will think of Ambassador Hindustan? Ambassador).

But just like the representative of China's automobile industry development, people will think it is Volkswagen Santana, but the most famous taxi model is Jetta. In India, especially Mumbai, the most populous metropolis, the cultural symbol model representing taxis is Premier? Padmini .

On the edge of a tree-lined street in Mumbai, India, a dark-skinned driver opened the hood of his taxi and seriously thought about what he was repairing. This car is black and the roof is yellow. It looks old, a little square, with round headlights. There is a metal luggage rack on its roof, which says "Mumbai" in bright orange letters. Such street scenes may have been common in the past, but they will soon become history. Just as the old Jetta quickly disappeared around us, it once covered every city in Mumbai, and Premier painted it yellow and black? There are less than 50 Padmini taxis left. These old-fashioned black and yellow taxis are driving into the sunset and will disappear completely in 2020.

Directly lead to the prime minister? Padmini went extinct because in 2008, the government of Maharashtra (its capital is Mumbai) began to phase out old cars to reduce pollution. At that time, the laws and regulations stipulated that the taxi age in Mumbai should not exceed 25 years, but in 20 13, this regulation was revised and further limited to 20 years. It sounds the same as our yellow label car restricted country, one country and two countries. This also means that Premier, which stopped production in 2000? Padmini, this year's deadline is up.

Prime minister? What is the life experience of Padmini? This car is an Indian version of Italian Fiat 1 100, which made its debut on the streets of India in 1960s. A local company in India called Premier. Cars? Limited company. The name Padmini sounds half a century earlier than Apple, but it actually comes from a legendary Indian royal family. Early years, Prime Minister? Padmini's poster promotes the car as "your own beautiful princess" with a photo of an Indian woman wearing gold jewelry.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the Prime Minister? Padmini has become synonymous with taxis in Mumbai. Padmini was a symbol of luxury in the 1980s. It has a 3 1kW engine, equipped with air conditioning, leather interior and tawny glass. During the rush hour, there are about 60,000 Padmini taxis on the streets of Mumbai, or 63,200 to be exact. A corresponding data-the total number of taxis on the streets of Shanghai today is about 50 thousand. For Mumbai people at the end of last century, the Padmini is an unavoidable car in life. "This is an iconic car that has served millions of people." This sentence is not what I said as a person who has never been to Mumbai, but the conclusion of the Secretary General of the Mumbai Taxi Drivers' Union.

199 1 year, the Indian government allowed more private competition in the economy through reforms, and multinational companies began to flood into the Indian market. Padmini in 1960s had to compete with foreign cars equipped with the latest technology. The result is obvious, you will be beaten if you fall behind. In 2000, Padmini suddenly stopped production.

Although the Padmini is shabby and backward, it is more popular with citizens and tourists-the huge space in the back row and trunk is much higher than those taxis with compact models and large compressed natural gas tanks in the trunk. By the way, as I said before, the Padmini also has a roof rack, and you can tie your luggage to the roof if you like-"plug-in" is a national theme of Indians.

There is also a special etiquette for riding a Padmini. You can never close its door by nudging it. The correct way is to slam the door. The crisp metal crash means the beginning or end of a magical journey.

The humble Padmini taxi has served passengers for decades, and when it is about to disappear, it has also become a source of inspiration for artists and photographers.

RachelLopez is a native of Mumbai. A few years ago, she began to pay attention to the city's prime minister? Padmini taxi, her focus is very strange-the picture of the taxi roof lining, and upload it to the IG account @ thegreaterbomb? In fact, now she has released more than 500 photos of the roof of Padmini, with nearly 10,000 fans ... Feel it, we have to say that Indians are really artistic, and we will probably only use such pictures on grandma's tablecloth.

Marku? Radeski is another obsessed Mumbai Prime Minister? Padmini taxi guy, where's Rachel? Lopez is different. In the spring of 20 1 1, he came to work in Mumbai, and he was surprised by the taxi line outside the airport. "I saw hundreds of old taxis that looked cool, and my reaction was, Wow!" What is this feeling? It's probably the feeling of seeing a neat yellow taxi under the bridge on the arrival overpass at T3 of Chongqing Jiangbei Airport. Well, there is a picture.

In the next three days, he traveled all over the city and photographed these taxis with interesting scenes. He said that what impressed him most was that all taxi drivers were very proud of their taxis. "When I took this Padmini taxi, I felt like I was in a movie," Lahdesmaki said. He knows that this legendary model of the Indian taxi market will disappear from the city in 2020. In addition to videos, he plans to buy one and ship it to Los Angeles.

Lahdesmaki said that the relationship between taxis and cities is not an illusion, like in movies. 20 19 a movie called Premier? The film "Padmini" was released in India, and the plot was not clear. Maybe it was a sudden fight and dance while driving.

With the prime minister? Along with Padmini, there may be a group of senior Mumbai taxi drivers who are familiar with the city. They spend almost all their working hours in Padmini. Bollywood, cricket and Padmini taxis are also known as the lifeline of Mumbai, the city that never sleeps in India. In 2020, the story of Padmini taxi will come to an end.

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.