Kolkata, September 4, 2025: Asian Paints Sharad Shamman, Kolkata’s most iconic celebration of Durga Puja artistry, has completed 40 years with a landmark initiative titled “Cholte Cholte 40”. The project reimagines Kolkata’s yellow taxis as “moving archives” — each cab transformed into a multisensory time capsule reflecting four decades of Durga Puja creativity.
The initiative was unveiled by Amit Syngle, MD & CEO of Asian Paints Ltd., alongside acclaimed Bengali actors Abir Chatterjee and Sauraseni Maitra. Forty taxis, each dedicated to a decade of the awards, feature painted exteriors, interiors styled with Asian Paints wallpapers, textiles, and Royale Glitz finishes, and the brand’s signature crown on top — symbolising its role in elevating everyday life.
Instituted in 1985, Asian Paints Sharad Shamman began with a newspaper advertisement and quickly redefined Puja as an act of creativity, design, and community expression. Over the years, it has expanded its categories to include Best Puja (Shrestho Pujo), Discovery of the Year (Bochorer Bismoy), and Best Artisan (Shrestho Protimashilpi) — creating a four-decade archive of the city’s evolving Puja traditions.
The yellow taxi was chosen as the canvas for this milestone as a tribute to an enduring Kolkata symbol. Once inseparable from Puja journeys — ferrying pandal-hoppers, artisans, and even Sharad Shamman judges — the taxis are now vanishing from the city’s streets.
Each taxi has been designed in collaboration with leading artists:
- 1985–1995: Bikramjit Paul depicts the shift from elite to community Puja, with motifs of radios, lights, and the first Asian Paints Sharad Shamman advertisement featuring “Gattu.”
- 1995–2005: Meenakshi Sengupta recreates the era of Chandannagar lights, tram rides, neon pandal gates, and the rise of Bengali rock music.
- 2005–2015: Sayan Mukherjee highlights the age of thematic grandeur, corporate sponsorships, and immersive pandals with goddess imagery and Royale Glitz accents.
- 2015–2025: Srishti Guptaroy portrays Puja in the digital age — projection mapping, live concerts, and global influence, alongside Kolkata’s cultural icons reimagined in playful contemporary forms.
Speaking at the launch, Amit Syngle said, “When Asian Paints Sharad Shamman began in 1985, it set out to honour Puja’s imagination. Forty years later, it has become a living chronicle of Kolkata’s creative spirit. The yellow taxi, an everyday Puja companion, felt like the most fitting tribute — our Royale tribute to the City of Joy.”
The initiative follows Asian Paints’ 2023 tribute to Kolkata’s tramways, when a tram bogie was transformed into a moving artwork to mark 150 years of the city’s trams.
Rutva Trivedi, Design Director of XXL Collective, which executed the project, added, “This project extends the ethos of Sharad Shamman by returning creativity to the city in new ways. Above all, it honours Kolkata’s yellow taxi drivers, who have carried generations through Puja nights.”
From a single newspaper ad in 1985 to yellow taxis on Kolkata’s roads in 2025, Asian Paints Sharad Shamman continues to celebrate the creativity, devotion, and artistry that make Durga Puja the city’s greatest cultural festival.
