Truck workers sing about their life on the road

KOZHIKODE: A group of truckers in Kunnamangalam here is bringing the plight of truck workers to public consciousness in a novel way - by singing about it.They have released an album of Mappila songs titled Njangal Lorry Thozilalikal, which features six songs about the constant on-road life of truck workers. A R Rasak, a former truck driver who runs a mechanic garage in Kunnamangalam, has composed the music and sang some of the tracks penned by his long-time friend Hussain Muttanchery. Another truck driver Arif Khan found the time in between long trips to sing on some of the tracks.“The plight of truck workers is ignored by authorities everywhere and the general public remains largely oblivious to them. This album will help them understand the difficult lives we lead. We often have to be on the road without food or sleep for days at a time,” says Rasak. The songs in the album are a mixture of amusing ones detailing experiences on the road and tragic ones about the dangers the truckers face in their day-to-day life. Rasak picks a more poignant one from the album as his favourite. “It is about a trucker who promised to bring his sons sweets on his return and then met with a fatal accident during the trip. It has been sung from the perspective of the child,” he says.The album has been well received since its release last week, says Rasak, and is currently heavily sought after by truckers.