Standing in a Gulshan traffic jam, June 2019, I watched three cycle-rickshaws pull abreast — each back panel hand-painted with tigers, mosque domes, and film stars. Fire-engine red and chrome yellow slapping against the grey exhaust haze.
The Studios That Never Sleep
In the lanes behind Chawk Bazaar, three studios operate from rooms barely larger than a closet. R.K. Das, A. Lateef, Hanif Pala — each employs four to six painters working dawn to midnight. A single back panel takes two hours, from tin substrate through vinyl adhesion to freehand figure work with brushes reshaped by teeth.
“Every puller wants his panel to be the one people remember at the end of the day. If a passenger says something nice, the puller comes back next month with a bigger order.” — Rafiq, painter since 2003