Passing through Sirhind on the G.T. Road to Delhi, I came across dozens of workshops specialising in the construction of truck bodies and decorating them. Truck owners take great pride in their vehicles and some elaborate trucks take upto 6 months to complete. I was super excited when I was allowed to see some of the process and take photos!

The interiors of the truck are as beautiful, in fact more intricate than the outside most of the time. These are decorated with hand cut vinyl stickers along with beaten metal work.

 

These are some of the templates they use for the interiors. I love the red mirror (below) with its scalloped edges. 

  

There are plenty of shops selling colourful wheel caps for the tyres, cut out vinyl stickers and many other decorative accessories.

PS - Thank you Katie for a great Photoshop tutorial, and of course NellyNero for her fabulous easy to use PS actions.

Wooden painted toys

 

 I found these lovely hand painted toys in Udaipur. In the small lanes around the City Palace, one can find many of these little treasures. From birds to marching bands, 

from jigsaw puzzles to elephants! 

How sweet is this marching band. The men came in a colourful box that reminded me of mithai boxes from when we were little. 

Dastkari Annual Fair

I was in Delhi for the Dastkari Craft Bazaar at Dilli Haat earlier this month and picked up some beautiful gifts. If you're in Delhi, I highly recommend a visit to Dilli Haat where hundreds of craftspeople from all over the country have set up stalls selling their state's craft specialities. It's a great day out for children and adults alike. Along with the craft stalls are demonstrations and workshops for all, as well as food stalls from every state. 

Here is a round up of some of the things I saw.

 Hand painted fans from Andhra Pradesh

A very sweet game of Ludo

 Beaded flowers

 

Basket making workshops by African artists  

 Felted woollen fabrics, made in Kashmir

 Everyone loves a bit of Candy floss!

 Colourful baskets from Andhra Pradesh

 Weaving demonstration

  

I particularly loved these hand painted papier-mâché birds from Orissa. 

Happy New Year! Have a great 2012.

Lots of Love, 

Kangan.x