Vehicle Worship in Grand Theft Auto: Art and Ritual Across Borders

KOCHI:
For those who grew up playing the wildly popular video game Grand Theft Auto (GTA), the name Los Santos might sound familiar. Derived from Spanish, Los Santos means “The Saints,” a fictional representation of Los Angeles, a city of stark contrasts between holiness and criminality.

In a twist of irony, the game’s central premise revolves around stealing cars—a criminal endeavor set against the backdrop of the so-called “City of Saints.” For Kerala-born artist Megha Jairaj, her connection to Los Angeles began not through a real-life journey, but through a childhood moment. She vividly recalls waking up from an afternoon nap to the strains of Paradise City by Guns N’ Roses, a track famously linked to GTA. Her siblings were engrossed in the game, and the music sparked her curiosity about the city.

Exploring the Ritual of Vehicle Worship in Los Angeles
Megha’s artistic practice combines spiritual symbolism with contemporary migration narratives. For her, a car is more than a vehicle; it represents journeys—physical, emotional, and cultural—across time and space. This perspective led her to explore the idea of communal vehicle worship in Los Angeles, questioning how rituals adapt in the context of immigration and displacement.

In India, vehicle worship is a traditional ceremony seeking blessings for safety and prosperity. Immigrants in Los Angeles have reimagined this practice, merging it with their diasporic experiences. Rituals that once honored local deities now evolve to suit new contexts, reflecting the complexities of migration.

The ‘Auto Protection Los Angeles’ Performance
In collaboration with artists Lori Fong Gonzalez, Rashid Khurwashi, Tai Parvith, Vicky Aravindan, and Alan Poma, Megha staged a live performance titled Auto Protection Los Angeles. Held in a gathering space for artists, the event showcased a step-by-step vehicle worship ceremony. Each car had a designated soundtrack, reflecting moments of chaos, survival, and adaptation. The soundtrack included prayers like:
“Protect me as I navigate foreign lands, water, fire, mountains, and enemies. You, my car, are my sanctuary.”

The ritual also featured echoes of Paradise City by Guns N’ Roses, blending music, ecology, and cultural identity. The sound reverberated beyond the performance space, symbolizing the interconnectedness of place, economy, tradition, and memory.

Megha’s Auto Protection Los Angeles exemplifies how art can transcend borders, merging personal and collective histories. By reimagining traditional rituals in a modern urban context, she creates a unique dialogue between culture, migration, and identity. The echoes of her work remind us that the essence of one place can be deeply felt in another, transcending physical boundaries.