Kolkata, India, May 28,2015 - With a bed of real grass on the rooftop and a cluster of eight potted plants inside, the yellow-coloured ambasador car, which operates as a taxi resembles a moving garden and outshines other vehicles on the city's streets.
40-year-old
driver Dhananjay Charkaborty who operates the 'plant fitted' car calls it his
'Sobuj Rath' or Green Chariot.
A
self-confessed plant lover, Chakraborty says his rented house was filled with
potted plants and lack of his own space prevented him from maintaining a
full-fledged garden.
is love
for greenery, however reached a different level after he discovered an empty
bottle of alcohol left beind in the backseat by a passenger. After a lot of
pondering Chakraborty placed a money-plant in the bottle and kept it in his
car. That he says began the 'greening drive' of the taxi.
"I
love planting trees. Since I live in a rented house I could not have maintained
a garden. But I made sure to keep potted plants and plant saplings wherever
possible. Once I found a bottle of alcohol in which I planted a money plant.
"Initially,
people made fun of me but gradually they began appreciating my work. When I saw
the plant growing, I thought of creating an entire garden in my taxi,"
Dhananjay told PTI.
The
'Green Lawn' or the 'Green Tray' another name coined by Chakraborty for the
car, which he says took around six months to complete, was inaugurated this May
8.
A ceiling
of artificial grass enhances the green feel of the car. The cost of creating
the lawn came up to Rs 22,000, which says Chakraborty, excludes the cost of
decorating the ceiling and planting saplings inside the taxi.
"I
have set up an artificial grass bed on the ceiling of the taxi which gives a
sense of real grass. I have also put potted bonsai plants near the driver's
seat. On the left side I have another tray of grass and drawings have been made
on it. The art has been made keeping pollution in mind. The pots have short
poems and captions written on them," says Chakraborty.
The taxi
which plys from Karunamoyee to Tollygunge and vice-versa does not charge
customers additional for the decoration and the extra comfort provided by the
planting of trees and grass. - PTI
No comments:
Post a Comment