New Delhi- In a country where the roar of truck engines has long been synonymous with rugged masculinity, three women from a modest family in Kerala are rewriting the script. Jalaja Ratheesh, her daughter Devika, and sister-in-law Surya have not just taken the wheel, they’ve shattered the glass ceiling of one of India’s most male-dominated professions.

For generations, truck drivers have been painted in Bollywood films as shady figures: smugglers dodging the law, womanizers with a bottle in hand, or rootless wanderers with no ties to family or home. “Driving is a man’s job, and drivers? They’re not the sort you’d want around your daughters,” says Yunus Khan, a grizzled mechanic at a roadside service centre in Rajasthan, echoing a sentiment shared by many.

But the three women of Puthettu Travels are proving otherwise, inspiring millions of women to challenge these outdated notions and claim spaces deemed “unsuitable” for them.

At the heart of this story is Jalaja Ratheesh, a 50-year-old powerhouse who traded her role as a homemaker for the driver’s seat of a 12-wheeler behemoth. Born in the hilly village of Koruthodu in Mundakayam, Kottayam district, Jalaja grew up in a world far removed from highways and heavy loads. She married Ratheesh, a seasoned truck driver, and settled into Puthettu House in Ettumanoor, where she spent the next 19 years managing a bustling joint family household.

Ratheesh and his younger brother Rajesh migrated from Erumeli to Ettumanoor 25 years ago alongwith their mother. They have been living together in a joint family of 10 members now.

Cooking, cleaning, raising two daughters Devika and Gopika and supporting her in-laws defined Jalaja's days. Truck driving? It wasn’t even a blip on her radar. That changed in 2018 when Jalaja, encouraged by Ratheesh, quietly obtained her heavy vehicle license. “I didn’t think much of it at first,” Jalaja recalls in a candid chat over chai during a pit stop. “It was just something to have, like a backup skill.” But fate and a touch of marital negotiation had other plans. On their 19th wedding anniversary in early 2022, Jalaja voiced a long-held dream: to accompany Ratheesh on a trip to the snow-capped peaks of Kashmir.

Ratheesh, ever the pragmatist, handed her the keys with a challenge: “If you want to come, you drive.” What followed was no romantic joyride. Starting February 2, 2022, the couple navigated treacherous mountain passes, landslides, and endless queues, reaching their destination after 10 grueling days. “I was terrified at first—those hairpin bends, the sheer drops,” Jalaja admits. “But once I gripped that steering wheel, I felt free. Like I owned the road.”

Since then, Jalaja hasn’t looked back. She’s clocked thousands of kilometers, crisscrossing almost all the states—from the southern tip of Kanyakumari to the northeastern frontiers of Assam, Arunchal Pradesh or Tripura. Her cargo? Everything from plywood and rubber to onions, ginger, pineapples, and chemicals. “I’ve seen India in ways most people only dream of,” she says. “The golden sands of Rajasthan’s deserts, the misty valleys of Meghalaya, the bustling markets of Kolkata. But it’s not glamour, it’s grit.”

Jalaja and her husband Ratheesh tag-team the long hauls, trading off behind the wheel so one can catch some shut-eye in the truck's snug cabin while the other tackles the dark, winding roads. They whip up simple home-cooked meals on a compact gas stove during brief halts at highway layovers, turning necessity into a ritual of shared warmth. One standout adventure for Jalaja was her inaugural cross-border run to Nepal, sparked by the classic Malayalam film Yoddha.

Jalaja’s boldness didn’t stop with her. It rippled through the family, pulling in Devika and Surya to form a formidable trio of women drivers. Devika (21) and a BCom student at Rajagiri College in Ernakulam, earned her heavy license last year. Nicknamed “Muthu” by her family, she made headlines when her first drive went viral on International Women’s Day.

“Mom showed me it was possible,” Devika says, her eyes lighting up. “Why should boys have all the adventure? I love the independence—the wind in my hair, deciding my own path.” Surya, Jalaja’s sister-in-law and wife of Ratheesh’s brother Rajesh, followed suit, inspired by Jalaja’s journeys. “I saw how she balanced family and the road,” Surya explains. “It made me think, why not me? Now, we’re a team, loading up, hitting the highways, and coming back stronger.” Jalaja, Surya and Devika bacame the drivers on the Lucknow and Shillong trips in April-May 2024. Rajesh and Surya's children Ganga and two-and-a-half-year-old Daksha also joined them. AC was additionally installed in the cabin. They slept in the lorry and cooked on the roadside.

The family business, Puthettu Travels, now operates 27 trucks crisscrossing India and beyond, with Jalaja and her family playing key roles in daily operations. “Our trips take us from Kanyakumari to Nepal, Gujarat to Assam,” she shared. “We’ve seen India’s beauty and challenges from the driver’s seat.”

Since the women of Puthettu Travels seized the steering wheel, founder Ratheesh has reinvented himself with quiet pride, stepping out of the driver's seat to become the family's steadfast cameraman and storyteller for their YouTube channel, "Puthettu Travel Vlog." With his lens as his new companion, he roams the cab and the roadside, framing breathtaking sunsets over misty hills, the relentless dust clouds of parched highways, endless traffic snarls that test patience, and above all, the radiant determination of his wife Jalaja and daughter Devika as they navigate the unknown.

No longer hauling cargo alone, Ratheesh now pours his decades of road wisdom into mentoring them, sharing hard-won tips on safe maneuvering through monsoon floods, plotting the perfect pit stops for family-fueled road trips, and even demonstrating the nuts-and-bolts of vehicle maintenance under the hood with a father's gentle authority.

Their videos brim with lighthearted magic too: the playful banter that erupts mid-journey, Ratheesh's cheeky teasing of Jalaja to whip up her signature Kerala fish curry at the next dhaba halt, all captured in raw, joyful slices that have viewers hooked from the first frame. It's this blend of empowerment and everyday warmth that propels their content skyward—each upload racks up lakhs of views within hours, drawing a devoted tribe of 673K subscribers who cheer not just the miles conquered, but the unbreakable family spirit steering them forward.

In the hot summer of May 2025, the Puthettu family set out on a big road trip from Kerala to Ladakh in their caravan during the school holidays. They traveled through 18 states, covering 11,000 kilometers in 51 days. Jalaja, Devika, and Surya took turns driving with the men, but they also looked after three lively kids, cooked meals, and kept everything clean. "When the family is together," Ratheesh says with a happy smile, "driving or cooking feels like fun, and road trips are like long picnics that give us precious time as a group." The men helped in the kitchen too, Rajesh, who grew up running his dad's hotel, made tasty Kerala dishes like chicken and mutton curries full of fresh spices that everyone loved.

The subscribers to "Puthettu Travel Vlog" transcend the role of passive viewers, emerging instead as cherished "family members" who flock with unbridled enthusiasm whenever the family's truck or caravan rumbles into view, their faces alight with recognition and warmth. At the epicenter stands Jalaja, affectionately dubbed the "main driver" by her husband Ratheesh, whose quiet strength and unpretentious charm draw admirers like moths to a flame—men, women, and children alike, hailing from the verdant backwaters of Kerala to the snow-draped valleys of Kashmir, bridging divides of language, caste, and creed in an instant.

They surge forward with eager handshakes, showering her with heartfelt accolades for her indomitable grit and endearing simplicity, tales of her highway heroics spilling out in a babel of tongues that only deepens the connection. Jalaja, ever the gracious anchor, reciprocates with radiant smiles and lingering chats, her joy mirroring theirs as these serendipitous roadside reunions weave a tapestry of belonging, proving that the Puthettu vloggers aren't just entertainers, they're kin, forging bonds that turn every mile into a homecoming.

Yet, for all the triumphs, the road is riddled with potholes—literally and figuratively. In a field where women make up less than 1% of drivers, gender barriers loom large. “This job is seen as unsuitable for women—too rough, too risky,” Jalaja points out. “People stare, question. But we’re proving drivers can be family-oriented, sober, and respectful.” The biggest hurdle? The glaring lack of basic amenities on highways. “Most restrooms are locked or filthy,” she laments. “We rely on small hotels, petrol pumps, or toll booths, but they’re rarely clean—especially for women. No proper lighting, no hygiene. Imagine driving 15-20 days non-stop, cooking your own meals because eating at hotels three times a day doesn't feels healthy and comfortable. In some places, corrupt checkposts demand bribes even with empty trucks. It’s exhausting, but we push through.” Recently, Jalaja and Ratheesh completed a long tiring trip from Tripura.

Yet, while the Puthettu women share wins on the road, Surya is the strong but quiet support at home, limited by her role as a mom. She has three kids in school, the youngest is a curious four-year-old just starting class, and her oldest son is about to face tough 10th-grade exams—so she stays back more often than Jalaja's long trips. "I can travel so much because of Surya," Jalaja says warmly. "She handles the whole house when I'm gone, taking on every task so smoothly that I don't worry at all—her care at home lets me drive without fear." In this quiet team effort, Jalaja thanks her sister-in-law not just as family, but as the hidden hero who makes her freedom possible, turning solo journeys into a strong bond of sisterly support that keeps the family moving ahead.

Presently, the family is on another trip through the Himalayas and Rajasthan's sandy deserts, with Jalaja's mother-in-law joining them to add her loving touch. Sadly, Surya had to stay home this time because her son needs to focus on his exams after the winter break ends—it's a small sacrifice that shows even strong women like her put family first.

The fourth trailblazer in the Puthettu family is Gopika, Ratheesh and Jalaja's younger daughter and a BBA student, who's just earned her license and is zipping around in cars and utility vehicles for now—her big truck adventures are just around the corner, keeping the family's wheels of empowerment spinning forward.

This report is woven from the rich tapestry of the Puthettu family's lived adventures—drawn from heartfelt conversations, roadside reflections, and unfiltered moments shared during their epic hauls across India's highways.