Seconded By: Ioannis Galanopoulos Papavasileiou,
Goodbye Padmini is a photographic series by Aparna Jayakumar that reflects on the cultural and visual legacy of the Premier Padmini taxi — once the lifeblood of Mumbai’s streets. Originally introduced to India in the 1960s as the Fiat 1100D and later adapted by Premier Automobiles Limited, the Padmini became a beloved urban icon. With its distinctive black-and-yellow livery, and vividly decorated interiors brimming with character, it not only served as Mumbai’s most recognisable vehicle for decades but also came to represent the soul of a city shaped by migration, labour and resilience.
Jayakumar’s project, shot over several years, documents the final years of the Padmini’s presence before its official retirement, as government regulations phased out vehicles over 20 years old. Her cinematic compositions capture not only the vehicle in its twilight, but also the human stories entwined with it — the lives behind the wheel, generations of migrant drivers and workers who built livelihoods and communities around this modest machine. Jayakumar preserves the dignity and everyday poetry of those who kept it moving.
The year 2023 marked the end of the Premier Padmini’s journey on Mumbai’s roads — more than the disappearance of a car, it signified the fading of a deeply human presence. Goodbye Padmini is a quiet meditation on memory, belonging and the tension between what cities preserve and what they quietly erase. In chronicling the Padmini’s final chapter, Jayakumar invites viewers to consider what is lost and what endures in the face of relentless urban transformation.
City
A Padmini taxi whizzes past a Mumbai cityscape
A Day Off
A taxi driver on a day off with his family at the Gateway of India
Mirrored Roof
Padminis have vividly decorated interiors, each one unique
Elephant God
Ganpati (Elephant God) Festival on Chowpatty Beach
Reflection
A taxi driver in a moment of reflection
Monsoon
Lines of Padminis parked in the pouring rain
Forgotten Heroes
The Padmini juxtaposed against busts of heroes of the Indian freedom struggle
Shift Change
10 or more taxi drivers share a 10×10 ft room
Junkyard
Where the Padmini goes to die
Sundown
The sun sets on the Padmini