Chapter 1: “The Best Innovator of the Year Award Goes To…”

Ladies and gentlemen, may I please have your attention.

The Best Innovator of the Year Award goes to Mr. Sankeerth.

Please give him a warm round of applause.

This award is presented for a life-changing idea aimed at solving one of India’s most persistent and emotionally exhausting problems—urban traffic and daily commuting.

What makes this moment truly special is that Mr. Sankeerth does not come from an engineering or technology background. And yet, he has visualised and built an AI-driven autonomous vehicle called Mushika, designed exclusively for Indian roads.

True to its name, Mushika is small, agile, and intelligent—built to move through narrow lanes, crowded markets, and unpredictable traffic. Today, we invite Mr. Sankeerth to the dais to share his journey and the story behind Mushika.

Sankeerth:

Good evening everyone.

My name is Sankeerth.

I don’t come from a science or engineering background. But I have always loved technology. It fascinated me—not because I knew how it worked internally, but because I could see what it could do for people.

Mushika may look like my first creation, but in reality, it isn’t.

Before this, I had many ideas. Ideas that died quietly—because I lacked belief, clarity, and courage. I would imagine something, doubt myself, and move on.

When Mushika first came to me, I almost discarded it too.

I knew exactly what people would say.

“This idea already exists.”

“Other countries are already doing this.”

“You’re not even an engineer—how will you make this real?”

“Dreaming is easy, but you don’t understand that this cannot be built.”

And honestly, they weren’t wrong.

Autonomous vehicles were already being developed in the US and China. I kept asking myself—what is unique about what I am doing?

I found no convincing answer.

So I put the idea aside.

The Story That Changed My Thinking

I love reading books. One day, while reading a Tinkle comic, I came across a short story that quietly changed my life.

An old couple was travelling from one village to another in search of work and shelter. They had a donkey with them.

As they walked through the first village, a man laughed and said,

“Look at how foolish this old man is. He has a donkey and yet both of them are walking.”

Hearing this, the old man asked his wife to ride the donkey.

In the next village, someone mocked them again,

“Poor donkey! How heartless to make it carry both of them.”

So the wife got down and walked.

A little later, another group commented,

“Look at this shameless man riding while his wife walks.”

The old man got down and asked his wife to ride.

Then some children laughed,

“What kind of man lets his wife ride while he walks?”

Confused, embarrassed, and exhausted, the couple finally lifted the donkey onto their shoulders.

The entire village burst out laughing.

Humiliated, they left the village.

The message was clear—and brutal.

No matter what you do, someone will always have an opinion.

That day, something clicked.

I realised that if I kept listening to everyone, I would end up exactly like that old couple—doing everything, achieving nothing.

I also realised something else.

Irrespective of who is doing what, there will always be something unique about what I do.

But if I don’t believe that—nobody else ever will.

That was the turning point.

From that day onward, I decided to build Mushika—not because I had all the answers, but because I refused to let doubt decide my life.

Chapter 2: Mushika: How It Works, Why It Matters, and What It Protects

Mushika Chapter 2: How It Works, Why It Matters, and What It Protects