At the crack of dawn, Yogita Raghuvanshi gets behind the wheel and hits the highway all alone. For the past 15 years, this single mother of two from Bhopal has travelled to nearly every corner of the country in her truck, bending all the unwritten rules of the road.
Clocking in miles at a steady speed of about 45 kmph, munching on sprouts, and chewing on cinnamon to keep alert, this is how Raghuvanshi, 49, makes ends meet for herself and her children.
On her journeys across the country, it helps that she is fluent in English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and Telugu.
One of the country’s leading truck manufacturers has custom-built the truck she drives with such elan. It’s painted a bright red.
Life was not always like this for Raghuvanshi. In 2003, her husband, Rajbahadur Raghuvanshi, was killed in a road accident. In a double tragedy, her brother was killed while he was making his way to attend the funeral.
That’s when she found that the commerce and law degrees and a beautician certificate she had acquired were not sufficient to give her children a good education. Raghuvanshi decided it was time to take the wheel. Amazingly, Raghuvanshi says she has never felt frightened or threatened on her long hauls. “Other drivers actually encourage me,” she says. And dhabas welcome her with warmth.
(Images & text by A.M. Faruqui)
In a blur Yogita Raghuwanshi from Bhopal, who has been munching miles in her truck as a vocation for the past 15 years, eases into a steady drive on the Agra-Mumbai National Highway passing through Indore.
No loose screws At ease with the nuts and bolts.
In top gear: Crossing Indore, past butch multi-axle hulks.
Swapping wheels Getting her hands dirty.
One for the road A quick bite en route Ahmednagar.
Screen time At a toll gate, a quick scroll through messages and mails.
For the road ahead Refuelling at midnight at the Ashta bypass in Madhya Pradesh.
Hot meals Rustling up the road fare at Sendhwa in Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh.
Beauty sleep A nap inside the cabin before the next leg of the trip.