Latest news with #kajal
The Guardian
10-08-2025
- Automotive
- The Guardian
Trucks and Tuks: Decorated Vehicles of South Asia
A pair of kajal (kohl) laden eyes, a colourful parandi (tassel), a soaring bird or even revered gods and goddesses – such symbols are painted by self-taught artists on to the trucks and tuks of the Indian subcontinent. All carry with them a story, personal to the individual driver, yet shared within a collective consciousness of myths, fables, faiths and traditions. Photograph: Christopher Herwig The average Indian goods truck covers about 300km a day, with drivers spending most of the year away from their family and friends. Provided government regulations don't intervene, the extent to which a truck or vehicle might be decorated is unrestricted. For a driver, the truck isn't simply a carrier of goods, but their very own dulhan (bride). Consequently, trucks are embellished with bridal symbols and cab interiors mimic bridal rooms – stuffed full of colourful fabrics, parandis, mirrors, pom-poms and tassels. Photograph: Christopher Herwig The designs reflect a driver's identity, faith and aspirations and span a bewildering range of themes: ideals of masculinity might be intertwined with expressions of love and longing, while bold typography urges drivers to blow their horns, or promotes a campaign for the education of girls. Photograph: Christopher Herwig Sajavat (ornamentation and decoration) has long been an essential part of everyday life across South Asia. It can be found not only on vehicles, but also adorning well-decorated homes, as in the flowering motifs of alpana (traditional folk) designs, or the heavily embroidered traditional kantha (quilts). Photograph: Christopher Herwig The scale, extravagance and intention of the designs vary depending on the origins of the truck, as well as the driver's nationality and cultural background. In parts of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, miniature portrayals of idyllic landscapes, such as peasants harvesting crops, or riverside vistas complete with coconut palms, are usually painted on the sides of a truck, or on small niches at the rear. Photograph: herwig/Christopher Herwig Some decorations display evocative scenes from folklore or media. Photograph: Christopher Herwig In Pakistan, Islamic fundamentalists belonging to the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), Swat and Dir districts constantly pressure drivers to remove human and animal imagery from the trucks, driving truck artists out of these areas and shutting down their workshops. The fear of persecution or having their cargos looted or damaged has forced drivers with painted and embellished trucks out of these regions, while new trucks, decorated in abstract, minimal designs, have replaced them. Photograph: Christopher Herwig Between the 1950s and the 1980s truck art developed considerably, encompassing popular South Asian aesthetics alongside evolving traditional motifs. This was particularly reflected in the practice of filling every inch of a 'canvas', inspired by the way Indian and Pakistani cinema billboards had become louder in appearance. These in turn, had been influenced by the Pop Art and psychedelic movements which had arrived from the west in the 1960s. The first vehicles to be painted in this fashion were the mini-buses of Karachi. The approach quickly transferred to local trucks, the range of decoration continually expanding. Photograph: Christopher Herwig The fusion of folk and popular traditions, both accidental and intentional, is significant. In rickshaw art, the ancient folk traditions of Bangladesh (which are derived from the intermingling of the Ajanta and Tibetan traditions) are combined with local designs to develop new forms of urban vernacular folk art. Photograph: Christopher Herwig This use of a shared visual language is also visible in the appropriation of symbols and portraits such as those of the Sikh gurus and saints, adopted by the Muslim drivers in Pakistan, to portray their own prominent Sufi saints and ulma , scholars of Islamic law and theology. Photograph: Christopher Herwig Vehicle art continues to evolve in unexpected directions, incorporating and juxtaposing influences from numerous, sometimes seemingly contrasting worlds. With no formal artistic education (in most instances) many artists are taught on the job, training under an ustad (master artist). They learn to develop their individual imagination using ephemera from their immediate surroundings; posters, picture books, calendars, and so on, as inspiration. With this inexhaustible supply of material, they are able to produce new hybrids, while adding unique variations to established motifs. Photograph: Christopher Herwig At any given moment a vibrant collection of colours, poetry and totems can be found travelling the roads and highways. These living, breathing, moving metaphors traverse the narrowest of mountain turns and muddiest of tracks – the arteries that keep the Indian subcontinent alive. Photograph: Christopher Herwig
Telegraph
30-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Telegraph
How to get Angelina Jolie's red carpet eyeliner look, for just £12
Earlier this week I was rummaging through my make-up bag, desperately trying to find an eyeliner. I wouldn't go so far as to say I was panicked, but I did feel concerned, because this isn't just any old eyeliner – it is the one that has quickly become the star of the show in my daily make-up routine. For some people, a bright red lipstick is their trademark, but for me, it's a stroke of black kajal or kohl on my upper lash line. As a mother to young kids, I feel it's become even more necessary a tool to anchor my tired eyes. Eyeliner has been by far my most used make-up item since I was a teenager (with my Indian heritage, one of my earliest beauty 'lessons' was in expertly applying liner with a steady hand) and so I have, in my time, tried hundreds. This is no exaggeration. And yet, so many fail to hit the mark. My main gripe with eyeliner, particularly liquid formulations, is that while it begs to remain crisp and sharp, more often than not the inky colour will transfer and smudge. This is even worse if you have hooded eyes like me, and not acres of space on your eyelids. But this one that I was so frantically searching for – and eventually found at the bottom of my handbag – is the 12H Intense Ink Fine Line Felt Liner from the own-brand collection of Sephora. What's better, it comes in at under £13, a snip of the cost of some versions you can buy at the retailer (and, apparently, the relatively affordable own-brand collection at Sephora is its bestseller despite stocking all the big beauty brands). Sephora Collection 12h Intense Ink Fine Felt Liner, £12.59, Sephora If you find traditional liquid eyeliners too difficult to use, this felt-tip version offers more ease. Once it's on, it's on: this product has withstood the test of the recent heatwave in the UK and the daily battle against humidity on the London Underground. You can use it to create a very slim line or a more dramatic look. Tom Ford Eye Defining Pen in 01 Deeper, £52, Selfridges Speaking of dramatic eyeliner, I discovered the exact combination Angelina Jolie – who celebrated her 50th birthday earlier this month – used on the red carpet at Cannes. Or rather her make-up artist Raoul Alejandre, who enhanced Jolie's eyes with a two-step approach using Tom Ford products: firstly, Eye Defining Pen in 01 Deeper, £52, followed by a layer of Gel Eyeliner in Black, £36, on top, to act like an insurance policy for the product underneath by fixing it into place. The Tom Ford eyeliners are pricey but worth it if you're looking for a luxury product to add to your kit. Tom Ford Gel Eyeliner in Black, £36, Selfridges Jolie has long been the poster girl for a standout eyeliner. But if the thought of framing your eyes with a dramatic black eyeliner makes you break out into a sweat, Hannah Martin – who is the go-to make-up artist for Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie – advises on trying a different shade in a softer kajal texture. 'The joy of kajal eyeliners is that the product is malleable but once it's set, it's set. A reddish-brown shade with tiny illuminating particles will bring real focus to the eyes, whatever your eye colour,' says Martin. If you are worried about transfer with a kajal liner, 'create your line and wait 30 seconds while your eyes are closed for it to dry,' she adds. Try the Silk to Set Kajal Liner in Spiced Pecan by Hildun x Hannah, £16. Silk to Set Kajal Liner in Spiced Pecan by Hildun x Hannah, £16, Hildun Beauty While kajal as an eyeliner is naturally softer in texture, Martin explains that you need to keep it sharpened to get a really slim, precise eyeline. 'With a sharpener, just half a turn will do to keep the nib nice and sharp.' She also suggests powdering your eyelid with a little translucent powder before using eyeliner, if you really are concerned about transfer.
