Indian Truck Slogans Get Livelier With Political Overtones

LUCKNOW, (IANS) – Call it the winter chill the year-end festive mood or creativity at its funniest, but slogans written behind trucks and lorries seem to have progressed beyond “Buri nazar wale tera moonh kala.”

There are new slogans, heavily laced with satire and some with definite political overtones.

A truck on the Lucknow-Kanpur route had a slogan that said “Gulab se doori, kya kamal hai majboori.” For the uninitiated, the gulab (rose), at one time, had become synonymous with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who had a rose flower on his sherwani, and kamal (lotus) is the BJP party symbol.

Another carried with it a slogan that said, ‘Jai Jai Shiv Shanker, Traffic Zara Kum Kar’, (Oh God please reduce traffic) – a clear attack on the worsening traffic situation in various cities of Uttar Pradesh.

“Tees saal ki umar ho gayi, tooti tooti kamar ho gayi/ na naukri, na chokhri, na gadi na ghar, kab umar aayi aur gayi.” The slogans echoed the problem of unemployment on the eve of elections.

Yet another stated ‘Kaam kar, kaam kar, kaam kar/ EVM ka rone har dam mat kar.”

A poetic slogan said: “Safar lamba hai to suffer karna bhi lamba hoga/ zibndagi nahi to zindagi ka rona hoga.”

A truck prominently displayed a warning: “Aashiq mehenga hai, paisa mangta hai/ Ishq sasta hai, tumhari jaan mangta hai.”

Guddu Aslam, a truck driver from Sultanpur, said: “Old slogans have become repetitive and boring. Young transporters encourage us to opt for better ‘shaiyri’ so that people can have a laugh and even remember it.”

Another catchy slogan with word of advice says: “Keechad mein pair rakhogi to dhona padega/ driver se shadi karogi to rona padega.”

Another warned those insisting on overtaking vehicles with the slogan “Dum hai to cross kar, nahin to bardhasht kar.”

One truck had some advice for parents: “Bete ko zindagi do magar bike nahi/ beti ko shiksha do magar mobile nahin.”

Some slogans on trucks also serve as advertising platforms.

Sample this: “Laila ne kaha Majnu ke kaan mein/ chole khila do mujhe Sonu ki dukaan ke.”

An interesting slogan written behind a lorry said: “Dhoop padi jab Heer par, pighal gaya shringar/ dekha chehra Heer ka, phir Ranjha hua faraar.”

Interestingly, while the Uttar Pradesh government has come down heavily against vehicle owners who inscribe slogans on their vehicles or number plates, no such action has been initiated against owners of heavy transport so far and, therefore, these slogans continue to make journeys lively and interesting.