PESHAWAR, Aug 5: For school drop-out Ilyas Khan, business is literally looking good. In a junkyard here Ilyas and his brother Hayat turn trucks into works of art-on-wheels.

Ilyas and his brother are adding the final touches to a Japanese-made 10-wheel Hino truck that has been given the typical Peshawar make-over with red, yellow and green motifs painted on a blue background.

But, the star attraction is on the back of the truck.

A larger than life portrait of a film actress greets passersby as the truck careers through the length and breadth of the country.

“She is the most famous film actress in Pakistan today,” says Ilyas Khan. “So when the owner wanted something attractive, he chose her. They want something very individual. This is a one-of-a-kind bodywork that we do.”

Spelling mistakes both in Urdu and in English are glossed over as poetic licence.

It is the vanity of the drivers that keeps the Khan brothers in business. No driver would want to be seen dead in a truck with a factory-finish look.

The brothers custom-build at least six truck bodies a week and for someone who dropped out of school at the age of 13, Ilyas has come a long way: He employs 25 workers.

Ilyas said the best artwork on wheels comes from Peshawar, which has been a gateway for invaders, traders and missionaries for more than 2,000 years.

“The colours are chosen by the owner, we give a design to suit the customer,” says painter Lal Mohammad as he adds the finishing touches to a string of metal chains dangling from the floor boards.

A complete art job on a 10-wheel truck costs Rs15,000 ($250).

But coach building could cost another Rs170,000 ($2,850). The package includes adding an extra platform beyond the front bumper to serve like a cow-catcher seen in the steam locomotives.

Even motorcycles modified as three-wheel taxis get the paint make-over to suit the owner’s taste, or as some would say, the lack of it.

The artwork can be further refined by adding luminous paint and covering wheel rims with plastic light reflectors.

All this taste for body-work and in some cases body sculpture, hardly makes for a relaxed driving experience in Peshawar, though. Riding any sort of vehicle in this city of 1.8 million is not for the faint hearted.

Horse-drawn carts and the smaller, but nippier, donkey carts compete for right of way with motorcycles, three-wheel taxis, cars — both new and ancient, as well as buses.

The Phoenix Armoured Car service which helps banks and others to transport cash and valuables in the city has its own public relations drive on wheels.

The fleet of cash transporting vans do not sport fancy paint work. They carry a telephone number and a simple black and white message: “How am I driving. Complaints, please call.”—AFP