बसें · The Fleet

29 vehicles from India’s state road transport corporations, drawn side-on the way they are painted in real life. Every one of them boards with the language its state actually sings in — Marathi out of Maharashtra, Kannada out of Karnataka, Bhojpuri out of Bihar — and carries the class, the decade and the route it really ran.

• SafarnamaSafarnama ExpressBharat · AC SLEEPERAmber and cream, all-India board on the front. The Gateway, Charminar, Konark wheel, the Himalaya and India Gate in gold down the side — and a cassette deck by the door.HINDI · 1980s–today
• SafarnamaTiranga RiderBharat · ROYAL ENFIELD 350Black Bullet, thump you hear before you see it, and the tiranga on a pole off the pillion rail. No timetable, no conductor — it just goes.HINDI · 1990s–today
• MSRTCLalpariMaharashtra · ORDINARYThe red workhorse of Maharashtra. Bench seats, open windows, a horn that echoes through the ghats.MARATHI · 1980s–1990s
• MSRTCAsiadMaharashtra · SEMI-LUXURYBuilt for the 1982 Asian Games, it redefined intercity comfort with cushioned 2×2 seating.MARATHI · 1980s–2000s
• MSRTCShivneri ExpressMaharashtra · ULTRA DELUXE ACMaharashtra’s flagship AC coach. Quiet cabin, curtains drawn, expressway humming below.MARATHI · 2000s–today
• KSRTC (Karnataka)RajahamsaKarnataka · EXECUTIVEKarnataka’s executive classic — the dignified way from Bengaluru to Mysuru since the 90s.KANNADA · 1990s–today
• KSRTC (Karnataka)AiravatKarnataka · CLUB CLASSMulti-axle club class. Reclining berths and a windshield the size of a cinema screen.KANNADA · today–today
• KSRTC (Kerala)Ana VandiKerala · FAST PASSENGERKerala’s beloved “elephant bus”. Red and gold, monsoon-proof, always slightly late.MALAYALAM · 1980s–2000s
• HRTCHimmatHimachal Pradesh · HILL ORDINARYShort wheelbase, strong heart. Takes hairpins to Manali with a shrine on the dashboard.HINDI · 1980s–today
• TNSTC / SETCSethu ExpressTamil Nadu · ULTRA DELUXE ACBlue and gold out of Chennai, a Bharatanatyam dancer painted down the flank. Overnight runs with filter-coffee stops at dawn.TAMIL · 1990s–today
• KSRTC (Karnataka)Kantara ExpressKarnataka · ULTRA DELUXE ACMaroon and gold, Yakshagana figures along the whole side. Mangaluru to Bengaluru through the ghats.KANNADA · 2000s–today
• KSRTC (Kerala)K-SwiftKerala · ULTRA DELUXE ACKerala green with a Kathakali face and a snake boat in gold. Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi in one clean run.MALAYALAM · today–today
• DTCDTC PremiumDelhi · ULTRA DELUXE ACIndia Gate, Qutub Minar and the Lotus Temple drawn in gold line-work. Anand Vihar to Kashmere Gate.HINDI · 2000s–today
• PRTCPRTC ExpressPunjab · ULTRA DELUXE ACBhangra dancers and the Golden Temple down the side, a dhol player by the door. Chandigarh to Amritsar.PUNJABI · 2000s–today
• UPSRTCJanrathUttar Pradesh · AC DELUXEThe 08:30 Delhi–Lucknow down the GT Road, Ayodhya and the Taj drawn in gold along the flank.HINDI · 2000s–today
• WBTCBhagirathi ExpressWest Bengal · LUXURY ACBlue and white out of Kolkata, every seat taken — the Victoria Memorial, the Shaheed Minar and a rickshaw drawn in gold along the skirt.BENGALI · 1990s–today
• GSRTCGSRTC VolvoGujarat · VOLVO AC SLEEPERCream and maroon with bandhani block-print along the skirt. Ahmedabad to Rajkot overnight.GUJARATI · 2000s–today
• RSRTCMarudhar ExpressRajasthan · SUPER DELUXEDesert highway to Jaipur — chhatris in gold above the windows, ghoomar dancers below.RAJASTHANI · 1990s–today
• KadambaKadambaGoa · SUPER LUXURYTeal and green on the Mumbai–Goa Express — the Sé Cathedral, fishing boats and a feni pot in gold down the side, the sea on the other.KONKANI · 1980s–today
• JKSRTCJKSRTC ServiceJammu & Kashmir · DELUXE AC SLEEPERJammu to Srinagar with a papier-mâché flower border down the skirt, chains on the tyres past October.KASHMIRI · 2000s–today
• Haryana RoadwaysState ExpressHaryana · LUXURY ACBlue and silver, हरियाणा रोडवेज down the flank and ghoomar dancers along the skirt. Still the most punctual thing on the GT Road, and still full to the door.HARYANVI · 1980s–today
• ASTCAssam RajaniAssam · VOLVO AC SLEEPERGuwahati–Dibrugarh overnight in green and gold, a rhino on the tail and gamosa weave along the side.ASSAMESE · 2000s–today
• TSRTCKakatiya ExpressTelangana · SUPER LUXURYRoyal blue over teal, మన తెలంగాణ – మన బస్సు down the flank. Charminar at the centre, Golconda and the Kakatiya arch in gold along the skirt. Hyderabad to Warangal.TELUGU · 2000s–today
• APSRTCAmaravathiAndhra Pradesh · SUPER LUXURYOrange and cream, the Super Luxury out of Vijayawada. Tirupati’s gopuram, the Undavalli caves and the Prakasam barrage drawn along the skirt, Tirumala at the end of it.TELUGU · 2000s–today
• UTCDevbhumi ExpressUttarakhand · SUPER LUXURYBlue over forest green, देवभूमि की यात्रा under the name. The Kedarnath shrine in gold at the centre, deodar and snow peaks along the skirt, a tiger in the sal forest. UK 200 Express, Rishikesh to Badrinath.GARHWALI · 2000s–today
• BSRTCBodhi ExpressBihar · SUPER LUXURYMarigold yellow with Madhubani panels at both ends and ज्ञान और शांति की भूमि down the flank. Nalanda, the Ashoka pillar, the Mahabodhi temple and the Golghar in gold along the skirt. BR 100, Patna–Gaya–Bodhgaya.BHOJPURI · 2000s–today
• SSRTCKanchenjunga ExpressSikkim · SUPER LUXURYDeep blue and gold under a string of prayer flags. Kanchenjunga in a roundel, a prayer wheel, the snow lion and a Mahakala mask by the door. Gangtok–Pelling–Jorethang, the whole way in second gear.NEPALI · 2000s–today
• MPSRTCHeritage ExpressMadhya Pradesh · AC DELUXEMarigold orange, मध्य प्रदेश राज्य सड़क परिवहन निगम across the whole flank. A tiger, the Khajuraho shikhars and the Sanchi stupa drawn in gold along the skirt, MP TOURISM HERITAGE beside them. The 11:45 Bhopal–Indore.HINDI · 2000s–today
• OSRTCBaibhavOdisha · SUPER LUXURYYellow with pattachitra end panels and ଭଗବାନଙ୍କ ନିଜ ଦେଶ down the side. The Konark wheel, an Odissi dancer, the Jagannath temple and a Chilika boat drawn along the skirt. Bhubaneswar–Puri–Konark.ODIA · 2000s–today