Ishan takes an opportunity to gloat about how awesome his job is.

I write this in the wee hours of yet another nightlong shift in the office – it’s the 7th anniversary issue closing, and since we’re doing another jumbo issue, we do have to put in some serious hours. Occasions such as the anniversary issue make you sit up and reminiscence about times gone past, and this year is no different. Looking back at what we’ve achieved as a team over the past few years, it’s a proud moment.

Personally too, it has been a period of massive growth – what I’ve been able to do over the past few years’ leaves me feeling quite satisfied. However, the one thing that I love about my job the most is the opportunity to drive some of the cars that I’ve always loved, and dreamt of driving. So in this article, bear with me, as I gloat about how our jobs are absolutely awesome.

The thought occurred to me while writing my two bits about the ‘Seven Year Itch’ story you’ll read later in the issue. Writing for that piece, I was looking back at the cars I’ve enjoyed driving the most over the past few years and I realized that most of my lifelong dreams have consisted of driving many of these very cars – and here I am.

Some of these drives, then, have been absolutely mesmerizing, and I get transported back to my time with these cars every time I think about it. For example, driving the Ferrari 458 Italia at the Buddh International Circuit was an experience of a lifetime. Sure, the time I got in the car was limited, but it was enough to reinforce the appeal of the prancing horse on my mind forever.

Then there was the M5, long a dream of mine to sample one and there it was – begging to be driven. Alas though, having just returned from a long flight, I was way too jetlagged to enjoy that one. Of course, there was also the Aventador in Dubai, which was a different beast altogether. Fast, vicious and brutal, it was a drive that I’ll remember for a long time to come.

Having sampled all kinds of powerful machinery, and some not so powerful ones – yes Beat Diesel, I’m talking about you – it’s been a journey with its own charm and pitfalls. A burst tyre on a 3-wheeled Morgan in the middle of nowhere? Yes Sir, done that too.

But, perhaps, the one experience that I remember most is my drive in the Nissan GT-R last year. That was for last year’s anniversary issue, and, as I look back on the drive now, I’m reminded of the ferocity of that beast of a machine. Where normally one would expect the Aventador to hopelessly overshadow any kind of car, the GT-R more than held its own against the Italian monster. I’ll admit that I was a bit wary of Godzilla, due to my intense love for its predecessor – the R34 Skyline. But it proved to be everything one could want in a fast supercar. The best thing about the car – other than the fact that it was ridiculously fast – was how easy it was to drive it fast. You could literally take any kind of liberties with it, and it would sort out everything for the driver – making him look like a hero in the process, whereas the real hero was always the car.

Sure, there are times when the job sucks – like right now, I’m sitting in office at 6am and still trying to finish work. But, truth be told, I wouldn’t want to change jobs with anyone in the world. Okay, maybe, I would agree to being a Porsche test driver, but I don’t think Porsche’s asking – so, hopefully, here’s to many more years of getting to drive the cars that I’ve dreamed about.