It takes more than a memory to remember the first time you fell in love with the sight of an open road. Mumbai-based writer Rajat Ubhaykar takes an easy guess, gallivanting to the late 1990's. He remembers being crammed into a Tempo Trax with his extended family on a journey from Mumbai to Karnataka with songs from Kaho Na Pyaar Hai as the background score.

That's when he saw the trucks — possibly knowing that he might write a book about them someday. The idea came to fruition during another impulsive trip from Kanpur to Shimla. "It's where I felt like these guys do need to be written about. Even in the media, when we write about transport, the lives of the truckers aren't discussed — it's centred around the lobbies and associations," the 28-year-old shares.