“You used to see a guy with a turban and you would get excited,” says Pal, who is in his 15th year of trucking. “Today, you go to some stops and can convince yourself you are in India.”
Palwinder Singh hauls produce through New Mexico on Interstate 40 on the way to Indiana.
— members of a monotheistic faith with origins in 15th century India whose followers are best recognized by the uncut hair and turbans many men wear. At Sikh temples in Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield and Riverside, the majority of worshipers are truck drivers and their families. The best-known are along Interstate 40, which stretches from Barstow to North Carolina. The road, much of it alongside Historic Route 66, forms the backbone of the Sikh trucking world.
Lines can form out the door at the restaurant, which opened two years ago outside the Petro Stopping Center, a longtime mainstay for truckers headed east.Palwinder Singh, who is in his 15th year of trucking “Punjabis are filling the gap,” says Raman Dhillon, a former driver who last year founded the North American Punjabi Trucking Assn. The Fresno-based group advises drivers on regulations, offers insurance and tire discounts, and runs a magazine: Punjabi Trucking.
Still, Pal sees more of America in a week than some people will in their lives. Rolling California hills, spiky desert rock formations, the snow-dusted evergreens of northern Arizona, the fuzzy cacti in New Mexico and, in Albuquerque, hot air balloons rising over an orange sky. There’s also the seemingly endless fast food and Tex-Mex of Amarillo and the 19-story cross of Groom, Texas. There’s the traffic in Missouri. After hours of solitude on the road, it excites him.
Three years later, he started driving a rig he didn’t own while getting paid per mile. Today, he has his own company, two trucks between himself and his brother — also a driver — and bids on shipments directly with suppliers. Nationally, the average pay for a trucker is just above $43,000. Pal makes more than twice that.
Pal likes to connect the TV sitting atop a mini-fridge to his phone to stream music videos when he’s alone. His favorite songs are by Sharry Maan, an Indian singer who topped charts two years ago with “ ‘You used see a guy with a turban and you would get excited. Today, you go to some stops and can convince yourself you are India.’For Pal, suspicious glances are more common. So are the truckers who think he’s new to the business or doesn't speak English. None of it fazes him.
Indonesia Berita Terbaru, Indonesia Berita utama
Similar News:Anda juga dapat membaca berita serupa dengan ini yang kami kumpulkan dari sumber berita lain.
How a rural Oklahoma truck stop became a destination for Sikh Punjabis crossing AmericaToday, as the number of Sikh truckers has grown, dozens of no-frill highway stops selling food from India’s Punjab region have sprung up. Truck Stop 40, on the outskirts of Sayre, Okla., population 4,625, is among the oldest, biggest and best known.
Baca lebih lajut »
Los conductores sikh están transformando la industria del transporte de Estados UnidosHay 3.5 millones de camioneros en Estados Unidos. California tiene 138,000, la segunda mayor cantidad después de Texas.
Baca lebih lajut »
How a rural Oklahoma truck stop became a destination for Sikh Punjabis crossing AmericaToday, as the number of Sikh truckers has grown, dozens of no-frill highway stops selling food from India’s Punjab region have sprung up. Truck Stop 40, on the outskirts of Sayre, Okla., population 4,625, is among the oldest, biggest and best known.
Baca lebih lajut »
Widow of truck driver sues over Wisconsin interstate crashThe widow of a truck driver who plunged off a Wisconsin interstate overpass to avoid a fiery collision is suing a company whose driver she says caused the crash.
Baca lebih lajut »
Relatives desperately search for answers after Americans go missing on Barbados Jet Ski rideRelatives are desperately searching for answers after two Americans went missing in Barbados
Baca lebih lajut »
Los conductores sikh están transformando la industria del transporte de Estados UnidosHay 3.5 millones de camioneros en Estados Unidos. California tiene 138,000, la segunda mayor cantidad después de Texas.
Baca lebih lajut »