Keeping your mobile phone on the camera mode can come in handy to capture some golden moments when struck in traffic especially behind Trucks.
Here are a couple of them.
PLAESE SOUND HORN
C U
If most truck drivers or those driving behind them especially in highways cannot write or read English, then why do all trucks in this country say ?
PLEASE SOUND HORN
HORN OK PLEASE etc etc etc in English.
HORN OK PLEASE
If you thought this was something mandated by the RTO ( which is what I was under the impression) put those doubts to rest.
Apparently there is no official stipulation in Indian traffic regulations . No traffic rules in India mandate or suggest the use of such 'slogans' on a vehicle. Yet many vehicles are decorated with the phrase
HORN OK PLEASE . Although there are many theories to the origin of this phrase, here is an interesting and may be the most plausible one.
In the early days, most of the Trucks in India were manufactured by the Tata Group. During these times Tata Oil Mills lts. co ( TOMCO) came up with a new brand of detergent called 'OK'. Marketing gimmicks by the TATA group led to them using their motor medium very effectively by painting "OK" along with its symbol the lotus flower. Thus OK got sandwiched between HORN & PLEASE
As time went by the OK sort of became a part of the initial paint itself by the lorry drivers and is still being used by people without knowing its glorious history .
Do Non - TATA trucks also carry HORN OK PLEASE ....
Point to watch out for !!!
If you are watchful about such things, then being stuck in traffic may not really be that frustrating.
Here is some such examples.
Amongst all the English transliterations of Hindi phrases this one tops the chart
BURE NAZAR WALETHERAMUKALA
Although its significance is lost when translated into English this is what it means .
The one with evil eyes - let your face be darkened. :( ( Nope ... it is not that ... just lost in translation)
And here comes the horniest of them all .
For the benefit of all non-hindi speaking readers here is how this strictly translates.
When a heavily loaded truck suddenly brakes it may reverse a few meters due to the jerk. It is therefore important to keep a safe distance when driving behind a heavily loaded truck. This has been translated in Hindi for ease of explanation. ;)
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There is also another explanation to this. Growing up in Palghat in early 80s one of the passtimes we as children had was starting at trucks which go in front of our home. We have seen Dodge trucks and fargo trucks in the same numbers as TATA lorries. All they used to have those days were the painting 'OK' - which was I guess the quality check certificate by RTO once their inspections got over. LAter on these trucks had this painted even before they went to the RTO inspection (which for trucks is every 6 mths or so )
ReplyDelete'Horn Please' would have been an initiative like the family planning initiative brazenly advertised on lorries during the 80s (we two ours one etc). But the OK still had to be maintained in its place, which was in the center of the rear plate ! My deduction from how I have seen it is that 'Horn Please' came in later and Ok was retained; making it 'Horn OK Please' :-)