Horn OK Please! : Truck De India! by Rajat Ubhaykar

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.

What really interests me about travel writing in India is the incredible diversity in culture and the unbelievable unity in their grace towards guests. Rajat Ubhaykar, a journalist, decides to tour the country hitchhiking and catching rides from only truck drivers. Truck drivers do get a bad rep for the accidents on the road and drinking and driving, sometimes the noisy presence they have on the road, but the reflection that the author gives is a human portrait of a father, brother, son - all of whom are either travel enthusiasts, have no other job or have been initiated into this line as a result of a family association.

With funny stories on on-the-road masturbation to a terrifying revelation of young boys’ involvement with the drivers, Mr. Ubhaykar paints a picture, equal parts beautiful and equal parts terrifying.

What really interests me in this essay, is the description of the North East. Ubhaykar tours across Nagaland and a couple of more states, describing the fear the locals feel from the Maoists, the lack of connectivity and the genuine danger that lurks just around the corner for every North Easterner. But even amidst this dark time, Rajat finds warmth from the locals, willing to share their food as well as experiences - a true reflection of the Indian attitude towards guests.

Drivers are plagued with deadlines and cuts in pay, dangers from thieves and mistreatment from managers. He also points out holes in state policy and the repercussions for the same, through the eyes of drivers who have lost compatriots to accidents caused due to overloading, extra unlicensed fees needed to cross through borders.

This book is a travel experience in itself, especially in a time that forbids us from doing so. The author takes us to the corners of the country and gives us a perspective that does not get recorded often enough and does not get expressed loud enough.