So Long Padmini! :(

The black and yellow taxis of Bombay have become an institution by themselves. The battered Padminis are the life-lines of the city (after the trains ofcourse).
The taxis are a part of the character of the city much like the Big Red buses of London, and more often than not reveal the quirky personalities of the taxi owners/drivers. With incense, gaudy plastic flowers, mis-spelled names/sayings and the ever present "Horn OK Please/Keep safe distance", the Padminis of Bombay are tiny fiefdoms that are mute victims to their owners garish tastes.
However, the Padmini is is under threat. With TATA introducing the Nano, everyone and their uncle is beating their chests demanding that all Fiat taxis (like the ones in the pics) be traded in for the Nano. Apparently, this constitutes progress!

On the plus side, it will be cheaper and more fuel efficient, but on the other hand it will result into an unnecessary expense for the people who rely on taxis for their living and who hardly eke out a living already.If it ain't broke don't fix it, kwim?
More than the expense however, is the fact that we will be trading in a huge chunk of what makes this city special for something shiny and generic. Tourists come here to see something different, to see something they don't get to see in their own countries, not to see their countries replicated on a smaller and shoddier scale. I hope this is not the last we see of the Padminis.Let's "Keep Safe Distance" from senseless "progress".

Pictures taken from here