Month: January 2026

The art of navigation

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

Hi! I am a motorbike from India. And I am writing this to you, my beloved reader, from the confines of a garage.

For those of you who read some amazing chronicles written by my riders, I must remind you that I am still the same good ol’ bike. And for those of you who romanticised riding me, watching someone in the movies, let me promise you that there are still thrills to be had riding me.

But I am writing this note to you for something more basic. To appeal to you to save me. From ignominy.

Why? You may wonder. Let me tell you.

You see, when I started riding everywhere all those years ago, my partners (riders) loved me immensely and took care of me like their family member. They used to be careful driving me around, taking pride in being a motorbike rider.

Then, as times changed, more and more of those sophisticated riders switched to cars for their everyday activities. I became a leisure toy for some, while for others I was relegated to their garage, or worse still, sold off.

Nowadays, I am being driven around mostly by people who are in a hurry. Those who want to beat the traffic on the roads and whoosh past everyone. They see me only as a utility vehicle, secretly still wishing they had a car.

So, they drive as if they are possessed by a spirit. “Get me there quickly” is their motto and they swish and whoosh past anyone and everyone. No regards to how others are driving, or who they are. Such is the hurry that some of them are fine with even jumping on to footpaths or drive on the wrong side of the road.

Then, there are those who are navigating the roads as if they are playing roadrash, the game that made me famous with the cool kids of the 90’s. So, they twist me at odd angles, without any respect for me. Sometimes, I brush off against other vehicles, who call me names.

And that’s the butt of my problem. When the fellow citizens walking or driving alongside see these riders commit these acts, it is I who get sullied. “These bikes are a nuisance”, I heard one saying. Another recalled how she had almost been overrun by one a few days back.

I can only look at those exasperated faces, for I am only a machine being driven around. Without intelligence. For now.

Actually, I am waiting for all this AI and Machine Intelligence to come to my rescue. I would then have the power to not do anything wrong. And hopefully, I will regain my respect among the few enthusiasts who still wish they had a bike…

Or perhaps, if you read this and like it, maybe for the time being it may give some intelligence to all those who ought to treat their bikes with dignity!

A welcome surprise!

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

The year began for me on a good personal note. And the first fifteen days have been great!

With wifey away at her hometown, I spent quite a lot of time with my daughter alone. Well, she had school and the usual routines. But still, we spent more time together than we would have done normally.

It was amazing to notice how she is developing at closer quarters. Having multiple conversations gave me a better sense of her thinking and connecting with it.

It was also weird! Because daughters think very differently than sons. Having been one, I could identify some of those differences and those made me think.

For example, they have deeper observational skills. One day, looking at how I was more relaxed after the break, she commented how I was happier than usual.

They also have a keen sense of understanding how doing something right will get them what they wish for. On one of the days, knowing I was going to agree to her request if she returned home on time after playing, she came back promptly on her own and got something in return!

But the best one is how they take care of you and your feelings. On another day, she ensured that she took care of me when I wasn’t feeling too well. That felt special, knowing she was doing the most she could.

I am sure I didn’t have so much maturity when I was ten. I was lost in my own world, trying to make the most of my play time with friends.

In fact, I see this happen even as we grow older. With my wife, cousins, friends.

Daughters are closer to their family and loved ones. They tend to be more concerned and keep in touch more often, irrespective of how busy they are. We sons, give more attention to worldly matters and don’t do as much.

Or how, daughters think about every little detail, irrespective of their age. And for everyone. Whereas sons are mostly concerned about things that are visible and sometimes overlook the subtleties.

Whatever may be the reasons, I think it balances things beautifully. Different perspectives and thought processes allow for different strengths and thus different contributions.

Back to my story, as we came to the end of the ten day period we were without the boss at home, the one single takeaway was that this was fun!

And was a welcome surprise for both of us that we would love to repeat…

Socially awkward?!

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

Joy was upset. It seemed like the worst day of his life!

He had woken up with different hopes. After a day when he had given his all to make his dance performance at the annual bash a success.

Last evening, after the performance he had received a good reception from the crowd, consisting of his college friends and their families. So, naturally he thought he had done well and had posted the recorded video on YouTube.

He had then shared the video on all his social media feeds and was expecting more comments from his circle. In anticipation, he logged in to see the comments and likes. He had got some love from a few of his friends.

Somehow, however, the video had also found traction with a different group whom he wasn’t connected to. And there were some nasty comments on his feed. He was being trolled for his movements and for imitating a famous dancer.

This didn’t sit well with Joy. He took his social media presence very seriously and had been angling to amass new followers. Such trolling could do his reputation harm and make him feel awkward.

He didn’t know what to do. He thought of multiple options, including taking down the video, in the first couple of hours.

Not convinced entirely, he then called some of his friends and sought advice. He even researched online on how to handle bad comments.

All this had worked him upto a frenzy by the evening and he was sitting upset in the balcony. There were a few children playing cricket down in the community area, but he was in no mood to enjoy. He sat there sulking.

As he watched from the balcony, something interesting happened. One of the kids, who was batting, had been slow to start. He was normally a good batsman, Joy knew him. However, due to his poor form today, some of his teammates started calling him names.

The boy, even though hearing everything, chose to ignore. He just focused on his batting. It took him longer than usual, but ultimately he broke the shackles and runs started flowing again. The other teammates who were hooting him, shut down now. After the game, they all shared in the revelry of victory.

As Joy watched this play out in front of his eyes, he realised bad form or a bad day was just a passing phase. If one doesn’t take it to heart or feel awkward about it, it didn’t affect as much. It was he who was making the day worse by sulking about it.

After all, social media was a means of connecting with others and being engaged. One bad post or some trolls couldn’t take away his hard work. Or the fact that he was happy about his performance. Their judgement shouldn’t have made him feel awkward.

He decided to leave things as is and didn’t respond. He also continued with his life normally. After a couple of days, seeing no engagement or infuriated responses, the trolls shut down.

The phase passed. The lesson remained. There was no awkwardness…

Action, Camera, Lights…

~ Rishi ~ 1 Comment

Another year went by. A new one has started.

Many of us have plans for the next twelve months. Or at least we think we do.

But do we pause and think if the order of things makes sense? And is that enough for us to achieve what we aim for?

Or are we rushing through the process, forgetting what comes first – lights or action?

Some of these thoughts crossed my mind as I spent the last week introspecting how the last year went by and what I should aim for in this new year.

I did a lot last year. Both on the professional and the personal front. A few things tick marked. There were a few misses but overall it was a good year.

A lot of learning happened. But one of the things that stayed with me was the process adopted and the results achieved.

There were times when I took a shortcut, either to get frustrated later on or through results that weren’t satisfactory or sustainable.

And then, there were cases when I adopted the right approach, and got to satisfactory and sustainable outcomes.

This happened in both my personal and professional life.

And as I saw where I was led to in either case, it became clearer that if I intend to achieve long-term success, I must do the right things at the right time. Rolling the camera without the lights won’t make much sense.

So, as 2026 begins, my one single resolve is to stick to a plan and make it work in the right manner. If I do that enough no. of times and for long enough, I should see some success…

Lights. Camera. Action.