From the Founder's Diary - creative inspirations

Q: Where do we get our creative INSPIRATION from?
A: Everywhere - even from what we see on the road!
Our Aleka Autos design was inspired by this sight. An autorickshaw or a motorbike runs out of fuel and someone gives a friendly leg to push you along ‘smoothly’. Ie, ALEKA!
Shop for Aleka designs at chennaigaga.com
This photo reference which could be two bikes or two autorickshaws (also known as the tuk tuk), is a sight that usually gets me half amused, half annoyed. Amused because the help offered is creative! Annoyed because they tend to hog the road and only drive or ride at a steady pace. The vehicle in front being at an angle, they do tend to take up more space on the road than if it were being towed in single file.

There is usually either a companiable silence between the two drivers or a lot of ribbing, chatting and laughing. This is what we have captured in this caricature. As I drove on namma Chennai roads, I encountered this scene very often and felt that it had design potential. It could be a fun sight to celebrate! Our caricature artist caught the entire mood of this phenomenon in one shot! The way the two drivers are enjoying solving one of their little misfortunes is a delight to behold because the camaraderie is evident.

On another creative note, today being World Poetry Day, we thought we could offer a few lines in tribute relevant to this motif:

There were once two men we saw,

They each had an autorickshaw,

One sat up in his auto in front,

The other’s foot was held up bearing the brunt,

The first auto had run out of fuel,

But its driver did not fret about life being cruel,

Instead, for help he asked his pal,

And his pal answered his call!

*Aleka is a word in the ever-popular Madras ‘baashai’ (lingo) which means ‘Smoothly’. Smoothly is exactly how the two autos cruise along on our roads, oblivious to the dense traffic all around.