One morning I was delivering a tiffin to Paona Bazaar, and this kid zipped past me on a Hero Honda — number plate from Assam, not even local. I stopped, watched him lean into a corner like he was at Buddh International Circuit. My scooter's top speed is 45 kmph, but I checked later — that rider was from a village near Moreh, no sponsor, just family pooling for his practice sessions. If we wait for government or big brands to notice, we'll be waiting till I'm old enough to ride a rickshaw, idou. Better we track every single one ourselves, because the real grid is on our own potholed roads.

Watched the kids at Khuman Lampak this morning while waiting for a parcel pickup — those young boxers, punching the air before the sun’s even up, no fancy gear, just raw grit. Makes me think: if we spent half the energy on local training grounds that we do on government tenders, we’d have Olympic medals stacking up. Saw a chaiwala there timing his rounds with their rest breaks — that’s the real support system, idou, not some big sponsor from Delhi.