FROM ABDUCTION TO ADULATION

A Homecoming on the Hero Xpulse 210

- AKAASH BHADRA

It all started with a bag over my head. No, this wasn’t a high-stakes ransom situation, nor was I part of some elaborate action-movie plot. This was just my camera crew having a little too much fun at my expense. Apparently, the best way to test my survival instincts—and the Hero Xpulse 210—was to kidnap me, shove me into a car, and dump me in the middle of nowhere.

Why? Because they thought it would be hilarious to see me struggle to find my way back home with no maps, no money, and no help. Just me, my questionable sense of direction, and a motorcycle designed to go anywhere. I suspect they also had a few personal grudges they were working through.

Once they got bored of their villainous roleplay, they untied me (not that they tied me up very well to begin with) and presented the challenge: get back home on my own. The rules were brutal—no phone, no GPS, no asking for help, no staying in hotels, and I could only use my barely passable Hindi to communicate. Oh, and I had nothing but a backpack, a tent, and my willpower. It felt less like a road trip and more like an episode of Survivor, except instead of a million-dollar prize, I'd be rewarded with exhaustion, dehydration, and a whole lot of Maggi noodles.