From truck driver to bhajiwala: Meet India’s new blue-collar stars

Working-class folks are capturing the reality of their humble and hard jobs in slice-of-life vlogs

- Ketaki Desai

Viral videos of people mistreating and even abusing the gig and domestic workers are everywhere these days — from security guards to delivery riders, being treated poorly has become part and parcel of the job for many. What goes unseen, says delivery rider MS Rahul, is the hard work and dedication that his job requires. Sick of being invisible, he started a YouTube channel almost two years ago. He vlogs about his job, showing people the reality of being a delivery person, from the silly arguments about OTPs to the often meagre earnings he receives. “I wanted to show the people what the job is actually like. Many think of it as a ‘lowly’ job, but after seeing my videos, people tell me that now they respect delivery boys,” says the 23-year-old living in Chennai.

Rahul is part of a growing tribe of blue-collar workers who are putting their working lives out there for all to see. Vlogs on YouTube have long been the domain of dewy-skinned, perfectly dressed influencers, tech bros waxing ineloquent about crypto and foulmouthed gamers. But as digital penetration has only increased in the country, we get access to seeing the ins and outs of many different kinds of lives, from truck drivers to domestic workers.