Messages in rhyme on vaccination ‘drives’

Cheeky one-liners painted on trucks are being used for awareness campaigns

Bhopal: They tickle your funny bone, but they also send a message. Reading ‘shero-shayari’ (couplets) written on passing trucks is a staple Indian highway experience.

To tap into this trucker tradition and channel it towards creating awareness about Covid-19 and vaccination drives, an initiative was launched by the Bhopal-based NGO, Search and Research Development Society, in association with the National Council for Science and Technology which is a government body under the Department of Science and Technology.

Drivers were asked to select their favourite message from a chart having over two dozen choices.

Many popular sayings were taken and given a Covid twist like “Teeka lagwaoge to baar baar milenge. Laparwahi karoge to Haridwar me milenge”.

Mukul, a team member who was painting these slogans onto vehicles, replaced Haridwar with Narmada Ghat. “In Madhya Pradesh, people prefer to perform the last rites at the holy Narmada river than going to Haridwar,” he said, with a twinkle.

Another improvisation was done on the popular rhyme, “Chalti hai gaadi udti hai dhool. Jalte hai dushman khilte hai phool”. The new second line now reminds people that “Vaccine lagwa lo warna hogi badi bhool”.

Another cheeky line goes, “Hans mat pagli, pyar ho jayega, teeka lagwa le, corona haar jayega”.

Sunil Patidar, a driver, said, “As these vehicles keep moving in urban and rural areas, people can easily get to see these messages written on them,” he said.

A top favourite among the drivers was the saying “Buri nazar wale tera mooh kala” which is now appended with “Achha hota hai vaccine lagwane wala”.