Highway In My Veins: 18 Images That Capture Indian Truck Art Straight Out Of Alice In Wonderland

¡°Ayenge a bulbul aaj gum ki raat hain , ayenge tere sheher main bus do chaar din ki baat hain,¡± said Jorawar Singh, 35, a truck driver by profession was telling these lines to a painter in order to get it painted on the back of his truck at Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar which is Asia's largest truck parking zone. Suddenly after looking at me, a frail and tired man climbs out of his truck and slams the door and broke into a statement : ¡°Saab hamare liye toh har din hi gham se bhara hota hai aur hazaaron kilometer ke safar pe akelaapan hi hamara saathi hota hai.¡±

Manohar Singh and his brother are coming straight from Hyderabad and is having a sigh of relief at Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar where their akelapan is no more their companion. Manohar Singh, 27, recently married men throws light on the plight of being away from home and says: ¡°Pehle toh hamari shaadi nahi hoti, truck driver ko koi apni beti nahi dena chahta or uske baad ye kaam aisa hai ki mahino mahino aap ko apne ghar se door rehna padta hai .¡±

There are thousands of stories like this in Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar. Stories of loneliness, stories of isolation, stories of sadness and stories of alternating between hope and despair. The transportation sector plays a crucial role in the functioning of Indian economy but the sector and the people associated with it are always looked down upon by the society.

The profession is not given its due share of respect. The remuneration paid to these drivers is not in consonance with the work they do. They risk their lives on the road and there are very few drivers with a life insurance. Mahtab Singh is travelling from Pehowa in Kurukshetra( Haryana) to Bhutan. While preparing his food in truck he tells us that it will take 10 days to reach Bhutan, he will stay there for 8-9 days and it will take 10 days to come back from Bhutan to Pehowa.

The journey will last for about a month. For this job, Mehtab is only being paid a meagre Rs 10,000.

India's fantastical and colourful trucks look like they rolled out straight from a magical land. Psychedelic designs, life and journey related quotes, songs, cows, etc painted on the back and sides of these trucks not only tell the story of the journey but also about region, religion and political preferences.

Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar s Asia's largest truck parking zone on the outskirts of Delhi. Transport Nagar is a microcosm of India as drivers from different part of country come here and interact with fellow drivers.

Driver Laddu is travelling from Kurukshetra to Manipur and he compares truck drivers with warriors and Army personnel. He says, "We both work for the nation and the difference is they are at borders and we are on the roads."

Laddu runs on Beedi and chai. He says, ¡° We are alone and these two things provide ultimate solace to us.¡± Beedi and tea with high sugar are the two things that drivers can¡¯t do away with.

Driver Laddu, turning his face and pointed his finger towards this tree, says, ¡°This tree is me and this is our life. This tree stands in isolation and is bereft of any beauty, our lives are just the same. We are isolated and lonely and our life is also bereft of any happiness."

Every truck driver considers his truck as new ¡®bride¡¯ and that is the reason that these trucks are decorated and embellished with slogans and various art forms.

Driver Prem Singh who says, ¡° Flowers are symbol of love thus you will find flowers in every truck. This means that we have only one happy relation. That is with our bride - Truck.¡±

An ordinary day of a truck driver starts with cleaning the truck. For drivers, truck is their home.

After covering 3200-kilometre-long journey, Driver Mangu Singh opens up his mobile kitchen and starts making food for himself and his cleaner. Drivers' food is famous for their spicy taste.

Their idle time is spent in finding ways to decorate their trucks. As there is competitive spirit among them that whose truck is most decorated.

Any tap near them or any handpump near them is their bathroom. Everywhere they go, they say they have to take bath in open. We are considered so inferior that no one bothers for providing us basic amenities.

¡°Alone But Happy¡± was a slogan written on one of the truck that sums up the life of a truck driver says one truck Driver.

Dazzling and colourful slogans written on the truck are thought provoking and also tells a lot about the truck driver¡¯s life. This colourful art also tells us about thier thoughts and the region they comes from.

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