GT Road Te Duhaaian Pave Ni Yaaran Da Truck Baliye

The famed Grand Trunk Road, stretching from Bengal to Peshawar is made up of legends.  Due to the “GT Road” passing through Punjab and the number of Punjabis involved in the transport business, references to the transport network can be found in music and popular iconography.

The road has a long history stretching from its early precursors during the brief rule of Afghan Sher Shah Suri, to greater development and expansion during the reign of the Mughals, finally to its naming as the Grand Trunk Road (GT Road) and paving under the colonial British Raj.

NPR is doing an extended story titled “Along the Grand Trunk Road: Coming of Age in India and Pakistan.”  I’ll leave aside the colonial rhetoric of the title – coming of age? who decides? what does that really mean? Regardless there are a series of interesting vignettes as the NPR reporters travel the length of the modern road, through Amritsar and Darbar Sahib.  Also enclosed  on the story’s website are pictures documenting 150 years of history of GT Road.  Do take a listen, or you can stick to Kuldip Manak if you prefer….