The so far unheralded paintings adorning public transport are a talent that has been passed through generations of Bengalis, with scenes ranging from soft erotica to birds, animals, simple village life and folk heroes.

Now 500 of the tin plate works of art, some measuring up to 2.4 metres (8 feet)by 3.6 metres (12 feet) have been taken from the vehicles and placed on display at the Alliance Francaise de Dhaka.

"The paintings are so innocent because people behind the brush are very simple ... it's their life," said Shahrukh Shahid, who helped organise the exhibition.

Nasima Noor, a housewife who paints to help family earnings, believes her works speak the minds of "real Bengalis."

"I mostly paint famous movie stars like Shabana, Shabnoor and even the late SalmanShah because taxi or rickshaw drivers go to the movies a lot ... they feel an affinity with such paintings."

Most of the 83 artists on show learned their craft from their Ostads or gurus in small shops where they worked as assistants, while some like Noor were taught by their fathers.

They are popularly known as "paint mechanics" as they operate adjacent to taxi workshops.

Mohammad Jalal, a self-taught artist, says he never has any plans before he starts a work.

"I try to organise beauty and based on seven colours go on creating new colours to make my paintings interesting and as colourful as possible in most cases."

Alliance Francaise de Dhaka director France Lasnier describes the collection as a kind of "Bangladesh heritage," while the French Charge D'Affaires in Dhaka, Jean- Guy de Wargny, says the paintings "reflect the real feelings and mind of the Bengal is as they cover all aspects of the society."

Both the crowds flocking to the exhibition and leading Bangladeshi artists are full ofpraise for the "natural-artists" who have had no formal training.

"These artists have extraordinary talents without any institutional background and bring us lot of joy," said celebrated artist Hashem Khan.

Added Ranjit Das, a well-known new generation artist: "A real trait of these paintings are the bright, attractive and warm colours and the details of every thing put on a plate."

Mohammad Rinku, 20, from the Keraniganj area near Dhaka, was born into a family which has been involved with tin plate paintings for generations.

"Now my father, my sister and myself we all do the same work and since there is a growing competition we want to offer clients more pictures to choose from," he said.