Life on the endless roads can feel lonely especially when your profession demands it, but one man’s simple meals have turned endless drives into a feast for millions.
Amid honking horns and dusty dhaba stops, cooking isn’t just survival, it becomes storytelling, a connection, and an act of innovation that turns everyday moments into something dreamlike.
While trucks haul goods, this driver’s videos deliver joy, proving everyday heroes hide in plain sight. His story gives a new perspective to cooking which tells that it needs no fancy studios, just passion, spices, and a smartphone.
Who is Rajesh Rawani
Rajesh Rawani, a 48-year-old truck driver from Jharkhand, has amassed 2.78 million YouTube subscribers on R Rajesh Vlogs and 2 million Instagram followers with roadside cooking clips filmed in his truck cab or highway spots, accordijng to a Better India report.
What started as WhatsApp updates for his kids evolved into viral content, combining daily hauls with inventive dishes like Bengali fish curry or mutton kaleji.
His son Sagar (26) launched the channel in 2021, uploading dad’s routine videos. “Vlogs were common even back then, but this was the first time people were able to see what a truck driver does. This was unique,” Sagar shared with The Better India. Views exploded from 4,000 to 100,000 subscribers in months, letting Sagar join trips across India.
Mastering the mobile kitchen
Rajesh’s 5-kg gas stove shines in tight truck spaces or jungle clearings, using carried masalas and fresh meat or fish from local markets.
Videos show onions sizzling amid traffic noise, teaching simple hacks like pressure cooker timing or jungle onion-chopping. “Young people love my vlogs,” Rajesh said to The Better India. “It’s because I use simple ingredients and techniques. Most cooking vlogs on the internet use ingredients I cannot even pronounce.
My young subscribers tell me, ‘Sir, when we move from home to our hostels, we follow your recipes. They are very easy!’”
The innovative idea that turned his life upside down!
Beyond views, success transformed Rajesh’s world, he’s built a ₹1 crore house, earning up to ₹10 lakh monthly from ads and sponsorships, per YouTube reports.
From 1990 garage mechanic cooking aloo sabzi for drivers, to stepping up post-father’s death in 1993
by fixing and driving trucks, food bonded him with road warriors. “When I met other drivers on the way, I would cook, and we would all share a meal together,” he recalled.
Not scared of influencer life, Rajesh said to The Better India “Not at all… I just did what I loved doing, and my children turned it into something creative”.
