During a recent journey to Ladakh, I visited a local truck depot. The yard was about half empty, but there were still lots of drivers cooking food, socialising or sleeping in their trucks.
All the drivers were willing to let me photograph their colourful cabins. Most trucks were decorated with religious symbols and I came across a fairly equal representation of Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims.
The drivers clearly shared a strong sense of camaraderie and told me that they often parked close to one another, cooked food together and swapped recipes. Some found truck life too lonely and teamed up to work in pairs. Truck drivers have a rough reputation in India, but almost all the drivers I met were welcoming and I was often offered freshly cooked food or chai. I wouldn't feel safe doing this in some other parts of India though.
At the time, Ladakh was just weeks away from being separated from Kashmir and several drivers warned me away from the Kashmiri drivers, who they said were not to be trusted.
Mid afternoon the depot filled up and drivers gathered by the office where were assigned their trips for the following day.
This is an ongoing project.
During a recent journey to Ladakh, I visited a local truck depot. The yard was about half empty, but there were still lots of drivers cooking food, socialising or sleeping in their trucks.
All the drivers were willing to let me photograph their colourful cabins. Most trucks were decorated with religious symbols and I came across a fairly equal representation of Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims.
The drivers clearly shared a strong sense of camaraderie and told me that they often parked close to one another, cooked food together and swapped recipes. Some found truck life too lonely and teamed up to work in pairs. Truck drivers have a rough reputation in India, but almost all the drivers I met were welcoming and I was often offered freshly cooked food or chai. I wouldn't feel safe doing this in some other parts of India though.
At the time, Ladakh was just weeks away from being separated from Kashmir and several drivers warned me away from the Kashmiri drivers, who they said were not to be trusted.
Mid afternoon the depot filled up and drivers gathered by the office where were assigned their trips for the following day.
This is an ongoing project.
During a recent journey to Ladakh, I visited a local truck depot. The yard was about half empty, but there were still lots of drivers cooking food, socialising or sleeping in their trucks. All the drivers were willing to let me photograph their colourful c...
April Fonti
Documentary Photography, Indian documentary photography, female photojournalist, female photographer