Unsung Highway Heroes

I hope you are enjoying our blogs and keeping safe yourself from this pandemic.
Dear all I’m back with another interesting life experience blog.
A catchy trip with my father along with my father’s employee. That inspired me to write something on Unsung Highway Heroes.

And that day I got to know about another edge of the fighters because if we recall our memory, teachers taught us human being with a firearm are real hero( no doubt), television attracts towards power rangers, ben 10, famous Chota bheem in India which we often think that they will save us.

Movies taught us AVENGERS, are the superheroes I don’t know where they are during this pandemic.
But I know some heroes we probably don’t know about. But their stories and struggle are real. So I think it must be known to the world.

Recalling my road trip, I, my father, and my father’s worker, we trio were leaving for Uttar Pradesh(State in India). Accidentally our mode of transport deteriorated, so we asked a truck driver passing by to drop us off at our destination.

But I found something I didn’t expect. There was a different world inside the truck. I became astounded because our society teaches us to call the driver or a fourth-class person but his hospitality was a million times better than a rich. He simply smiles over me and calls me chotu(small boy) and then he furnishes me with coke because outside was so hot and we were seeming dull.

I was seeing my father’s talk with ustad Ji(a proud name for the on-road heroes).

Ustad Ji was coming from a continuous 6 hour trip with 4 hours still remaining. A total of 10 hours of nonstop driving doesn’t seem easy, Right? But yes, this is an easy trip for them because an average ride of an Indian truck driver is 12 to 14 hours on the highway or 1.8 thousand kilometers round trip in about seven days on average.

Family of on-road heroes.

In the course of round trips, barely they can spend time with loved ones, But the truck staff becomes their family member and even passerby like us as their guest.

Key products

One small gas stove, using back seat as their bed, one blanket, no AC, a big stereo where melodies of old 90’s Kishore Kumar(legendary Indian singer) songs play on a loop, a small place for worship, and many more are fellows for them.

Their mom’s kitchen

In the vacate highways it seems tough for them to eat from their mother’s hand, so the roadside dhaba’s are their mom’s kitchen and the khat ( a cot) is a dinning table.

Decorative trucks

The trucks were introduced in 1940 during world war II by the Britishers of brand name Bedford for military cargo, but the trend remains in India and now we can see millions of trucks are adorning Indian highways.

But what’s the motive behind those decorative Trucks?

I asked this to my truck ustaad and he responded 👇.

For spiritual belief:

Have you ever noticed eagle printed on Indian trucks? The eagle stands for speed and precision and it is also a symbol of Sikh religion Guru Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji and many more.

For remembering family and their roots:

Most of the ustad’s and their students belong to villages and before the pre-digital era, the art like (a woman lifting her baby in the dock while filling the water, Farmers sitting under trees waiting for the crop to ripen, playing children’s ) these all give them nostalgic feelings, but this trend still follows.

For warnings too:

“Horn ok please” the famous quote written on the back of the trucks helps them in riding freely, and the catchy slogans like Dum hai to cross kar, varna bardasht kar” – Overtake me if you have the balls, or else tolerate being stuck behind my ass.

All I can say that whatever I saw or experienced was an amazing event of my life with ustad Ji, he shared amazing memories.

I was not carrying a smartphone that time so I can’t take his photo but calling them driver, treated them as a servant I don’t think is justice for them, all the basic amenities are provided only trough them even during this #pandemic #corona they are fighting for us, many ustads (truck drivers) affected with corona because they are busy giving services for the nation so I think there is a separate identity of ustads and not even they all the peoples required the equal respects.

I hope you like this blog,, if yes then do like, comment on your experiences, I would love to read your feedback. Do subscribe also.

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