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Truck de India!
Truck de India!: A Hitchhiker's guide to Hindustan | Rajat Ubhaykar
3 posts | 2 read | 4 to read
"The share auto I squeeze into next seems unusually vulnerable after a night in the truck - too compact, too low down. Perhaps, these are the usual side effects of prolonged riding with the king of the road, I think to myself. But it is only when I fill in truck as my mode of transportation in the hotel ledger at Udaipur does the utter ludicrousness of my endeavour truly hit home" Think truck drivers, and movie scenes of them drunkenly crushing inconvenient people to their gravelly deaths come to mind. But what are their lives on the road actually like? In Truck De India!, journalist Rajat Ubhaykar embarks on a 10,000 km-long, 100% unplanned trip, hitchhiking with truckers all across India. On the way, he makes unexpected friendships; listens to highway ghost stories; discovers the near-fatal consequences of overloading trucks; documents the fascinating tradition of truck art in Punjab; travels alongside nomadic shepherds in Kashmir; encounters endemic corruption repeatedly; survives NH39, the insurgent-ridden highway through Nagaland and Manipur; and is unfailingly greeted by the unconditional kindness of perfect strangers. Imbued with humour, empathy, and a keen sense of history, Truck De India! is a travelogue like no other you've read. It is the story of India, and Indians, on the road.
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review
Parvez
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What better way to discover a country if not through the eyes of the most vulnerable yet surprisingly one of the most underrated and suspected classes in the workforce of the unorganized sector which forms the backbone of logistics across the country?

The author Hitchhike through India on different Trucks and gives us a glimpse of the living conditions of Truck drivers and helpers as they make sure the supply chain is not disrupted.
5/5 stars

Reggie Sounds fascinating. Stacked. 2y
19 likes1 stack add1 comment
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GlassAsDiamonds
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First completed book of 2020 (yeah 🤦🏻‍♀️). Lovely travelogue on the road of India thats also an insightful and razor sharp dive into a myriad of social issues of the subcontinent, as parsed through the eyes and lives of its truck drivers. I love India‘s painted trucks and this was a delight to read. More wonderfully for anyone who‘s followed me for a while, he translates the Hindi phrases!!! 🙌🙌🙌 Highly recommenced.

ljuliel Very pretty cover. 5y
ljuliel Reminds me of this song. https://youtu.be/PDpVS7D9AJs ( a favorite) 5y
CarolynM Book sounds good.🙂 How are you? 5y
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GlassAsDiamonds @CarolynM moping? 🤦🏻‍♀️ Got really sick from the pollution in Rajasthan & Delhi which of course sent everyone here off into conniptions when we got home (coughing is a great way to clear a crowd in Singapore at the moment) and now packing to go home for a highly unexpected funeral. Life seems to be intent on pure chaos at the moment. Doesn‘t feel like it‘s stopped since August last year really... how are you?? Hopefully much better!!!!! 😊🤞🏻😊 5y
GlassAsDiamonds @ljuliel it‘s based on the painted trucks in India. They‘re moving to metal bodied ones which will be a horrible loss because the painted ones are such a beautiful institution!!! 5y
CarolynM Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. You are having rough time. Life really seems to have it in for us sometimes, doesn't it? Hope you're feeling better and you'll be able to spend time with loved ones at home even though it's a sad occasion. I'm good, I hope you'll be able to say the same soon.💕😘 5y
GlassAsDiamonds @CarolynM thanks my dear. This really has been a roller coaster year 🤦🏻‍♀️. I‘m glad you‘re well & yes, 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻😊 5y
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GlassAsDiamonds
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Fabulous book - part travelogue, part commentary on India. Perfect reading (from Singapore as we attempt to recover from our most recent exposure to the appalling pollution of the sub-continent).

MayJasper Thanks for your review. Sounds a great read 🚚 5y
29 likes1 comment