Thirty-seven-year-old Rachel Lopez is a Mumbaikar who has been clicking photos of these amazing taxi ceilings and posting them on her Instagram account @thegreaterbombay, converting it into a veritable art gallery. Her work was on display at the recently concluded Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai too, drawing massive interest from city-dwellers who had travelled in many a Mumbai taxi, but yet never quite noticed this fascinating overhead gallery.

“I was in a taxi in April 2017. The cab happened to have a ceiling with a brown background with strawberries of unusual colours – purple, maroon, green. I loved it instantly and I said to myself, ‘I have to take a picture of this.’”

Rachel Lopez

Rachel explains, “When a new taxi comes from the factory, it comes with a felt ceiling – a thick blanket-like material. So what the owner of the cab does is that he gives the car to the garage, and then the garage turns that vehicle into a taxi – by fitting a meter, attaching the ‘For Hire’ sign, putting a luggage carrier on the roof, and covering the ceiling with plastic. If the ceiling is not covered, it would get dirty more easily. So it’s the garages that put those decorative taxi ceilings on.”

Why such decoration? Rachel feels it’s because “we are a design, decoration and pattern-loving country.” She adds, “Think about it – why does the back of a truck need to have fountains and hills painted on it? It’s because we love to decorate.”

isn't that interesting, don't miss this in your next mumbai visit.