A small sticker pasted at an inconspicuous corner on a swanky car. The fact that it is not attempting to draw attention to itself but has something scribbled on it somehow attracts the eyes of many riders on the street who peer into it at a signal. The words on it ran: "Look at the road and drive, you Jackass!!!"

This tongue-in-cheek comment is bound to bring on a wry smile even to the gloomiest person on the road. Such whacky and humourous one-liners found on many cars in the City, definitely enliven the tedious drive on the jam-packed roads and the cumbersome halt at the signal. 

It is not merely the model of the car one drives which is used to make a statement these days but also the messages posted on them. The rear window is a hot spot to voice sentiments. Of late, the rear number plate is pushed up a notch and that spot is used to speak out something.

Here are a few statements conveyed on cars—Women are natural leaders, you are following one now; ABCDEFG (supposed to stand for A Boy Can Do Everything For Girl); It is not how you drive, but where you park; My dad is my ATM; You are following a V.I.P. A few unparliamentary ones too make an occasional appearance.

Of course, many businessmen exploit this freely available space on their vehicles to promote their products.
Automobile dealers post labels which brag about the vehicle and service stations subtly paste their contact numbers when the car delivery is taken.

Zubair Abdulla’s sporty car had many labels screaming ‘Hot Zone’, his company which deals with auto accessories. Below his number plate, were bold words which said, “Forget hell”.  When asked for the rationale behind his choice of words, he said, “Oh! Just like that.”

Kumar, a software engineer at Meritior and car lover, has spent quite some money modifying his car. He said, “I want my car to stand out from other cars on the road.” He was placing orders for a tiny sticker with the letters ‘DC’ on it to signify Dilip Chabria, a renowned car modifier.

When questioned as to how anyone would understand that, he said, “Car lovers will. I am trying to draw their attention to the parts I have modified on my vehicle through this.”

Shabbir, a designer at Creators Eye, located at IInd Cross, Journalist Colony, says, “People are willing to spend anything from Rs 30 to over Rs 5,000 to make their cars stand out. It is mostly the young male who is keen on this. College goers download words through internet and ask me to convert it into a sticker for their cars.

Graphic design all over the car is a rage now.”  The sticker also conveys valuable information to others on road like: Baby on board; In case of rash driving, contact: XXXX.  Some religious-minded ones use it to preach about their gods. Tribal decal images (fire, wild animals) and foreign sports clubs names abound on City’s cars.

Narcissism and a sense of ownership are still very much on display with many cars bearing the names of owners.
And it’s not just cars, the bikes that whizz past you on the street also display stickers, mostly humourous.

Regardless of familiarity with one’s language or love for it, when it comes to expressing yourself to the world, 99 per cent opt to do so only in English!