A UNIQUE FORMULA

As Oishi did the collar of her suit and walked toward the track, fragments of memories of her entire journey so far started flashing before her eyes—how she fell in love with it at "first sight", how her brother supported her when the rest of the world ridiculed her, and how she finally managed to silence everybody after making a name for herself.

Ever since she was a child, Oishi was not what society considered a "normal" girl. She never liked playing with dolls and dollhouses; cars and racetracks always caught her attention. Whenever she saw a group of boys having fun with their hot wheels set, she would stop in the middle of whatever she was doing and look at the set in awe.

One day, as Oishi was walking past her brother's room, the hot wheels set lying on the floor caught her attention. She walked toward the set and started playing with it. The thrill she got from running the car over the tracks was like nothing she had felt before, and it was at that moment that she decided what she wanted to be when she grew up—a racing driver.

As Oishi grew, she started amassing as much information as she could about motor racing—what it was, its tournaments, how and where they were conducted, how to become a racing driver, famous racing drivers of the time and of all time, and whatnot. Most of her time went into researching more and more about the sport. What strengthened her resolve more than anything, though, was the fact that there were only a handful of female drivers, and hardly any had ever won a tournament.

Oishi's brother had always known that her sister was "different" from the rest of the girls, but her sudden increased interest in cars and racing caught his attention. One day, we went to her and casually asked what she wanted for her birthday this year. Without any second thoughts, she said she wanted a Formula One car set. And that's how her journey into the whizzing world of Formula One kicked off.

Being a fan of F1 himself, Oishi's brother was more than happy to encourage her sister to explore the world of F1 with him and help her strive for her dream. He stood by her when she expressed her desire to become a Formula One racing driver to her parents. He also went out of his way to support her every step of the way in her journey of becoming a racing driver. When the world laughed at Oishi, and her resolve seemed to weaken, he reminded her how much it meant to her and how the only job the world had was to ridicule those who dared to stand out.

After years and years of toiling and countless setbacks, Oishi finally became India's first female Formula One racing driver. Everybody was ecstatic! But nobody was as happy as her brother, for he knew how much sweat and blood, both figuratively and literally, had Oishi put into becoming a Formula One racing driver; however, little did the two know that their happiness was about to be dampened soon.

A few days before her first official race as a Formula One racing driver, Oishi's brother suffered a massive heart attack and passed away. Everybody thought that Oishi would pull out of the tournament given the severe blow her brother's death had been for her. Instead, to their surprise, she chose to participate for her brother. She knew he had toiled as much as she had, perhaps even more, and giving up when she was this close to the summit would be a waste of his efforts.

Oishi returned to the present as she sat inside her car. She held the steering with both her hands, closed her eyes, and remembered her brother to whom she had decided to dedicate the win if she won the race.