Hyderabad’s auto drivers would often tell you, “Hum log Hyderabad ki shaan hain (We are the pride of the Hyderabad).” Artist and auto driver Rajesh Naik embodies this sentiment not just in spirit but in his art. The 24-year-old’s first solo show, Naik City, is an ode to the auto. With over 40 works—canvases made of rexine, prints, and sculptures—the exhibition captures a life spent glimpsing the city from behind the autorickshaw’s windshield. “The auto has both been my lifeline and inspiration,” says the resident of the Old City. The works on display are impressive: huge canvases in rexine full of glitzy colours and soaked in the iconography of Hyderabad autos—from images of Goddess Kali to matinee idol, Rajnikanth. The metal sculptures recreate facades of the vehicles using images of serpents and elephants.
Naik’s creative odyssey began in the seventh grade when veteran artist BA Reddy noticed his sketches at a school competition, and invited him to join Sanskriti, a non-profit art school for the underprivileged. There Naik learned printmaking from the Laxma Goud, and later was Rajeshwar Rao. “The time spent with them really helped me hone the basics of art—etching, understanding the scale of the canvas and composition, as well as developing my own voice,” says Naik. Soon, he started participating in group shows and, in 2024, won a contest held by the State Art Gallery of Hyderabad, where the winner got a chance to mount a solo show on the premises.
Annapurna Madipadiga, the show’s curator, explains, “I would call his genre local pop, since it is devoid of any external influences.” What stands out are Naik’s rexine artworks. The pieces took him six months to perfect. He shares, “I wanted to show how a material so rough can be transformed into something so beautiful.” His works explode with bold textures and playful imagery—dolphins, spiders, and surreal cityscapes. Naik’s palette draws inspiration from the youth of the Old City, known for their vibrant dress sense, and from his own Lambada heritage, where bright, intricately embroidered clothing is a cultural hallmark.
For now, Naik is savouring the success of his first show. Will he be exploring other mediums or muses? He shrugs. But one thing he is clear about is that he wants to continue to push boundaries like another artist he idolises—Subodh Gupta. Three wheels is a crowd of ideas and inspiration.