[PVS]

On my daily drive on the NH 7, I get to see many trucks usually from the North - the UP/MP/HR/RJ registered folks. And many of them have 'Fatta Box' written on their tool box. Does 'Fatta' mean 'tool' in Hindi - or something else?
As far as I know it is either 'Auzaar' or 'Yantr' .

Most of the TN trucks have either 'Sankari' (Sankaridurg, near Erode) or 'T.Godu' (Tiruchengodu) or 'Namakkal' written on their body. I recollect having seem lots of Namakkals and T.Godu earlier, but now 'Sankari' seems to be catching up.

Bus body builders at Karur used to be in demand for the private bus operators in Mangalore area. Compared to the drab looking KSRTC buses, these private buses used to look refreshingly different. PeeTee & Sons - Karur is one name that I still remember (P. Thangaraju & Sons - Karur)

Automobile Corporation Of Goa Limited (ACGL) was very popular amongst the log distance operators (in Karnataka) till the late 90s - before the advent of Volvos. Almost every operator had ACGL built TATA buses in his fleet - CPC's A/C built by ACGL were very popular with the Canara public.

Here in Hyderabad, APSRTC used to get its Deluxe Push back seaters built by BEBBCO Jamshedpur - now one Mohindra coach of Jaipur is building coaches for them.

Hope I am not going by talking about trucks & buses in this forum!
If yes, this thread may be moved to the appropriate location.

[condor]

@PVS, We do have a commercial vehicle thread .. but havent discussed this angle. What would the point of discussion be, w.r.t such slogans / remarks painted on these vehicles ?

[PVS]

Originally Posted by condor

@PVS, We do have a commercial vehicle thread .. but havent discussed this angle. What would the point of discussion be, w.r.t such slogans / remarks painted on these vehicles ?

Yes, there is a Commercial Vehicle thread initiated by nitrous on 3rd July 2007. Obviously I haven't searched using the appropriate terms!

We can have two areas of discussion here, if deemed feasible:

1) Slogans/signages painted on commercial vehicles, like the one 'Fatta Box' I was discussing above. Of course, you have the ubiquituos 'Buree Nazar Waaley Terah Muh Kaala' - which are too obvious to be discussed, but 'Fatta Box' interested me.

2) Bus & Truck Body Builders - ACGL (Goa), Sutlej Coach, numerous bus of Karur, and the huge trucking industry at Namakkal, Tiruchengodu & Sankari in Tamil Nadu & Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh.

[iraghava]

Well I do have the explanation for this but can't find a picture to illustrate it. Wait till evening, I'll get a picture & then explain in detail.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by iraghava

Wait till evening, I'll get a picture & then explain in detail.

Since we're still waiting for evening in Iraghava's world , and this thread is the #1 result for "Fatta box" on Google -- I thought I'd fill in the gaps...


The "Fattas" are planks of wood used to enclose the rear of the truck's storage area:


They usually have a pattern / painting on them, and are numbered (1,2,3,4... or A,B,C,D...) so that they are stacked in the correct order:


When the truck is not carrying any load, the fattas are then neatly stored in the Fatta Box which is usually accessible from the passenger's side (though sometimes from the rear too):

image source

Reasons for removing the fattas & storing them in the box:
1) Makes loading the truck easier (Rather than having to replace the fattas on an empty truck & then remove them to load it up)
2) Reduces aerodynamic drag (Debatable! Remember the Mythbusters tail-gate episode?)