The city’s fading yellow taxis are making an unlikely comeback this Durga Puja—not as everyday cabs, but as dazzling artworks. Forty of these iconic vehicles have been transformed into vibrant, moving installations, each designed to reflect a different decade of the festival’s evolution. Painted exteriors, illuminated interiors, textured fabrics, and motifs drawn from Kolkata’s cultural memory now turn the once-humble taxi into a festival on wheels.
The makeover is part of a special tribute marking 40 years of the Sharad Shamman awards by Asian Paints. To bring the idea alive, four contemporary artists were invited to reimagine Pujo through the taxi. Each one designed a cluster of cabs that celebrated a particular era, drawing on symbols and moods unique to those years.
The visual impact is immediate. On the streets, where yellow taxis have become rare sights, these reimagined vehicles stop passersby in their tracks. Commuters pull out phones for pictures, pandal-hoppers flag them down eagerly; the project is more than decoration—it is a way of returning an everyday symbol to the heart of Kolkata’s biggest celebration.
Bikramjit Paul captured 1985–1995, a period when Pujo shifted from elite celebrations to community festivals. His designs feature nostalgic touches from vintage radios to the very first advertisement for Sharad Shamman, evoking the rise of Sarbojonin (community) pujas.
Meenakshi Sengupta worked on the 1995–2005 decade, when Pujo became a grand social carnival. Her taxis are layered with motifs of Chandannagar lights, Howrah Bridge tramlines, and bustling flower markets, evoking the theatricality of pandal-hopping nights and the surge of Bengali rock music that accompanied the times.
For 2005–2015, lead artist Sayan Mukherjee recreated the era of spectacle, when themed pandals and corporate sponsorships transformed Pujo into immersive experiences. His designs feature the goddess holding the Earth, framed by shimmering finishes, echoing the large-scale artistry that defined the decade.
“Growing up in Kolkata, what’s always stayed with me about Pujo isn’t just those five magical days, but the months leading up to it. The excitement starts way earlier, the wait for friends and family flying back home, tuning in to Mahalaya at dawn with everyone, and that little shift in the air when you know Pujo is around the corner. The city slowly transforms, Kumartuli buzzing late into the night, para committees building pandals bit by bit, streets getting dressed in lights. And of course, the endless rehearsals and para performances, dance, drama and music. Everyone is getting ready to take the stage. It all feels like one big build-up before the curtain rises. For me, painting the yellow taxi is a way of joining that continuum and translating the city’s energy into a moving canvas that honours both its past and present," he says.
Finally, Srishti Guptaroy interpreted 2015–2025, an age of global ideas and digital interventions. Projection mapping, live performances, and social media filters dominate her work, alongside reimagined icons of Bengal — tigers, owls, chai glasses, and alpona—in playful, cosmopolitan forms.
For anyone who has grown up in Kolkata, the yellow Ambassador taxi is more than just a means of transport. Introduced in the 1950s, it soon became the backbone of the city’s commute. Its boxy frame and distinctive colour made it instantly recognisable, and its presence was woven into the daily life of the city. Nowhere was this more evident than during Durga Puja.
In the 1970s and 1980s, when families set out for pandal-hopping marathons, it was usually in a yellow taxi. Children peered out of the wide windows at streets glowing with Chandannagar lights, while parents bargained with drivers over fares late into the night. These cabs ferried artisans and materials from Kumartuli, carried visitors from the train stations, and transported judges assessing Pujo competitions. For generations, the yellow taxi was as much a part of Pujo as the dhaak or the bhog.
But time has not been kind to the city’s classic cab. With app-based services reshaping mobility, the fleet of yellow taxis has dwindled. The familiar image of a line of Ambassadors waiting outside Howrah Station has thinned. Many cabs have been scrapped, replaced by smaller cars or simply retired. Today, spotting one in traffic often sparks nostalgia—a reminder of a Kolkata that is slowly slipping away.
This year’s makeover, therefore, carries a deeper significance. By turning yellow taxis into moving canvases, the city pays homage not only to Pujo but also to the drivers who once worked tirelessly through the festival nights. Their cabs became shared spaces of joy, ferrying families across neighbourhoods lit with colour and sound. To see the same vehicles now reborn as living archives of Pujo is both poetic and fitting.
Q1. Why are Kolkata’s yellow taxis being decorated for Durga Puja 2025?
A1. Forty yellow Ambassador taxis have been reimagined as moving artworks to celebrate 40 years of Asian Paints’ Sharad Shamman awards. Each cab reflects a different decade of Durga Puja’s cultural journey.
Q2. Who designed the decorated yellow taxis for Durga Puja 2025?
A2. Four contemporary artists — Bikramjit Paul, Meenakshi Sengupta, Sayan Mukherjee, and Srishti Guptaroy — created designs inspired by the decades between 1985 and 2025, showcasing Kolkata’s evolving festive spirit.
Q3. What themes do the taxis represent during this year’s Puja?
A3. Each cluster of taxis highlights one decade of Puja — from the rise of community celebrations in the 1980s to the global, digital era of 2015–2025. Nostalgic motifs, lights, goddess imagery, and modern icons all feature in the artwork.
Q4. Where can people see these decorated taxis in Kolkata?
A4. The taxis will be seen on Kolkata’s streets during Durga Puja 2025, especially near major pandals and popular puja routes, making them part of the city’s pandal-hopping experience.
Q5. Why are yellow taxis so symbolic for Kolkata’s Durga Puja?
A5. Once the backbone of the city’s transport, yellow Ambassador taxis were integral to Puja — ferrying families to pandals, artisans to Kumartuli, and judges to competitions. Reviving them as artworks brings nostalgia and honours their cultural role.
