Timepass-1
Boredom is part of life, irrespective of the career one chooses. CEO, chaprasi, or middle management, none can dispute that they have never experienced ennui or tediousness. It’s part of daily life.
To beat such ‘pangs’, we adopt various strategies. We take a break from the routine or a monotonous chore by leaving the station we operate from to walk to the water cooler, smoke, or gossip with colleagues for a while. Such behaviour is inevitable. We are human, not machines.
At least most white-collar jobbers or blue-collar factory hands have company. They don’t perform in isolation. A casual chat with the man or woman next to you is possible.
Imagine the plight of long truck drivers. They work solo. The days of a kalasi or helper are history. They are lonely with no one to interact with. Of course, technology destroyed distance. There are smartphones. They interact with family and friends; seek route advisory from control towers, dispatchers, or the recipient’s side. Daily. Multiple times.
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Unlike the white or blue collar staff who return home after working hours, long-haul truck drivers can’t. They don’t have that luxury. Nor weekends or festive holidays such as Holi, Diwali, Ramzaan, etc. They are tied to the truck they steer. Their schedule is 24/7. Not that they drive the full 24-hour cycle. Not all seven days. Humanly impossible. They average 400–500 km/day, given the good road conditions at 50–60 kmph. So, roughly, they drive 10–12 hours with short breaks in between: for eating, bathing, resting, etc.
How much can one keep chatting with family, friends, or whoever? That leaves sufficient free time. How do they consume those free hours? Or how do they pass the time?
I will dive deep into this phenomenon. Who am I? Mera avagat kya hai? Sahi sawal.
I have travelled 3 lakh km on Indian roads since 2010 and interacted with over 1,50,000 long-haul truck drivers at highway dhabas, toll plazas, factory gates, distribution centre peripheries, and transport nagars. Besides, travelled 30,000 km as a kalasi (helper) on trucks across multiple trips. Reason: to understand their lifestyle while trucking in India.
Am I qualified? You be the judge.
To continue…
