TWO KEYS TO ONE TRUTH

Two machines. Two philosophies. And the decision that says more about you than you think

- By Manaal Mahatme Photographs Kaizad Adil Darukhanawala

Freedom of choice — funny how a phrase that is seemingly sounds like the ultimate human privilege turns out to be so paradoxical. While freedom implies liberation and the absence of any constraint, choice invites limitation. It narrows your world. Because the moment you pick, you leave all the other possibilities behind. To choose, after all, is to say no to everything else. And yet, there I was — staring at two keys, two roads. two realities. One red, one gold. It felt like a scene from a film we've all seen, but never really lived. Except this time, I wasn't watching someone else make the decision. This time, the illusion of infinite freedom had collapsed into something far more intimate — a binary choice that would define everything that came next.

The red key belonged to the Ducati Multistrada V4 Rally — tall, loud, and unapologetically alive. There was no promise of comfort, but straight-up confrontation. The kind that peels back your layers and forces you to meet your unfiltered self. The gold key, on the other hand, led to the Mahindra XEV 9e — sleek, composed, and precisely engineered to present perfection. It didn't want your instincts but your compliance. If the Ducati was the voice inside your head you keep buried, the Mahindra was the mask you wear when the world is watching.

The red pill didn't feel like rebellion, though. It felt like remembering. The moment I held the Ducati's key, something shifted. Not in the world but within me. It was as if everything I usually suppress — instinct, aggression, hunger for control — suddenly had permission to surface. The Multi V4 didn't care about the version of me that paid bills or answered emails — It wanted the one I hide. The one that breathes heavier when the road gets worse.