Thanks to a homemaker in Ettumanoor near Kottayam, the profession of truck drivers has shot up by leaps and bounds not only in Kerala but even across the country. Gone is the traditional image of truck drivers who could be spotted in any crowd thanks to their handle-bar mustachioed face with rough looks. Their position is being taken over by young professional truckers including women and most of them are either graduates or post-graduates. Any doubt? Meet Jalaja Ratheesh, the mother of two grown up girls who could be seen driving her Bharat Benz 12-tyre trucks through the National Highway connecting Kanyakumari with Kashmir.
For 24 days in a month, Jalaja would be behind the wheels of her truck transporting goods from Kochi to far corners of India. She has driven through most of the States except some of the North Eastern States.
“It was in response to a challenge thrown at me by my husband Ratheesh that I took up this profession. Ratheesh is a truck driver and after our marriage I asked him whether I could accompany him in his trips. He told me that he would welcome me to join him on the condition that I too should drive the giant truck,” said Jalaja while negotiating the hair pin curves in Kerala’s Main Central Road.
Within two years, Jalaja successfully completed her driving tests and presto, she holds a heavy duty licence. It was only with the heavy duty licence Ratheesh allowed her to board the cabin in his truck and since then there was no looking back for Jalaja, a history graduate. Meanwhile, Ratheesh’s fleet of trucks increased from one to 17.
“I had this love to see new places all over India and the job of a truck driver came handy. The travelogues authored by SK Pottekkat, the Jnanpith award winner, made me passionate about travelling. The trips from Kerala to north Indian States either through Karnataka or Tamil Nadu were a new experience,” Jalaja told The Pioneer.
She is accompanied by Ratheesh and daughter in the trips. Ratheesh turns videographer once Jalaja takes control of the vehicle. The journeys made by the family are shot as features and posted in the social media through their blogs. “We cannot set apart more time for sightseeing because of the deadline in delivering the goods. Still, we manage to shoot the landscapes, village fairs, temples, churches and eateries serving different cuisines,” says Jalaja.
Ratheesh and Jalaja carry their own ingredients for cooking on roadsides. “We do not miss homely foods as we stock the vehicle with sufficient rice and other ingredients that last throughout the trip,” said Ratheesh.
Though the lives of truckers are laden with dangers and accidents, this couple or their daughter have not faced any major untoward incidents. “There were some instances like a group of ruffians trying to assault us in Karnataka-Maharashtra border, somewhere in Bijapur. Similarly, we were held up in a road block in Kashmir for almost six days during one of the trips because of an accident. Otherwise driving along the highways and countryside are a pleasant experience,” said Jalaja.
When asked about the safety of women truckers, Jalaja said she did not face any threats from anyone during the trips. “We have fixed a time schedule for driving and rest. This keep us safe in all respects,” said Jalaja who is planning to write a book about the India which she discovered. “I assure you that it would be about an India, hitherto unheard and unseen. The country is undergoing a revolution, a silent revolution,” said Jalaja.
