[KarthikK]

This has been a terrible year and yesterday was a terrible Sunday when I woke up to this rude shock in the late afternoon, with news pouring in from different biking circles. He was unusually silent for a few days and we always thought it was some minor illness and he would be back soon, but that wasn't the case. It is with deep sadness that I write this post about Mihir, aka ethanhunt123, penning down a few anecdotes and experiences since I have had the privilege of interacting with him a million times over the past couple of years for various topics. As we step out of the shock, in my opinion it would be a fitting farewell to remember him with happy memories and with gratitude for everything he was to many of us.

He lived every day like it was his last, and this was something I admired in him. He always went for the best in everything, second best was never an option , and I say this with great admiration for that attitude. He worked hard, earned well, enjoyed hard, and lived life with no compromises to truly be happy for himself without caring about what others thought of him and his choices. And all this without making a show of any of these anywhere on social media. He was also a powerhouse of knowledge in multiple areas, be it financial stuff, travel, automobiles, or even just general knowledge or current affairs. I will always cherish our interactions through different bike ride meetups and 1-1 chats, and learning so much from him.

He was a passionate biker, crazy about Ducati in bikes, had a liking for German cars (especially Porsche) and knew every single technical detail and did proper analysis and homework before he said something anywhere about anything. On the Bangalore biker group, folks had fondly nicknamed him as a 'Ducati salesman' and his friendly banter of pro-Ducati and pro-Adv-bikes will never be forgotten.

On our Bangalore team-bhp biker meetups, he would always join the weekend morning meets without fail, would always push others to join as well, and would prod many newcomers to turn up and not hesitate or give excuses. Everyone in the biker community will fondly remember the Ducati Multistrada 1260S in their rear view mirrors with 4 aux lights and that loud Termignoni exhaust drawing all the attention on the roads towards this convoy. Although he had probably the most expensive bike in the convoy, he used to always be the sweeper and assist the inexperienced bikers or the slow bikers in the back.

I vividly remember, he wanted to pick up a preowned BMW 320d last year (he always wanted only a BMW as his dream car), and he took my help in shortlisting ads and visiting multiple prospects to evaluate the cars. We both must have visited almost 10-12 different car owners and even back then when I didn't know so much about him, he came across as someone who was completely aware of his limitations and abilities and focused on what he wanted - never confused about his priorities. I will always cherish this particular memory of his never ending smile the day he collected the keys of his BMW and drove it home. I am glad I could be a part of this one dream of his, if not more.

As CrAzY dRiVeR mentioned, Mihir's selfless service to the biker community will always stand out. Always a friendly, cheerful, soft spoken, down-to-earth guy, he used to go out of the way to help everyone who seeked out help or advice of any form. He used to travel frequently on work to different countries up until the pandemic happened, and many bikers in Bangalore biking communities took his help in selecting good quality riding gear and helmets (needless to say he knew in and out of every damn product on the market), and he used to carry back these for many folks. He offered to bring me a helmet from Singapore, and when I asked him not to take too much trouble, he had said "Don't worry man, I have a lot of luggage capacity left over and I like to carry back stuff for friends. I'll bring it for you, don't pay more for the same thing in India". We used to fondly refer to him as 'Santa Claus' for this very purpose every time he used to depart on one of his trips. Many times, he would take detour flights to make a stop in certain cities just to pick up stuff for his friends at lower costs than what one would pay by buying in India.

A few of us wanted to plan a ride to Spiti later this year (before the pandemic started) and in typical Mihir style (he preferred his comfort and didn't like to go through too many physically tiring journeys) he had said "I will only come from Delhi to Chandigarh and Shimla with you guys, show you around the place and enjoy some good food, you guys carry on from there, I am not enduring all the torture beyond that"

I'll always miss you and all our interactions buddy - it was an honour to interact with you over so many different topics and experiences. You went away too soon, but I do hope you are in a better place now than this cruel world. Rest in peace!

P.S - A word of thanks to the BROZ biker group (I am not a part of it though), there are many guys there who were a bit close to Mihir, and knew his house. A bunch of folks from BROZ has singlehandedly handled all the medical and legal formalities following his death, and assisting his family over this past weekend to ensure he is laid to rest in a befitting manner. I am sure there are a few members of that group who are members here on team-BHP as well. Thank you so much for your selfless service.

[Ranjith812]

Very sad news! May his soul Rest in peace.
My deepest condolences to his family and friends.

[neil.jericho]

Like most other forum members, especially those of us who are active in the biking section, when the news of Mihir's passing got shared on whatsapp, it was very hard to believe it. I had never got the chance to meet him but we were part of an active Bangalore whatsapp riders group and exchanged so much banter over so a couple of years. We had all been planning for a Toit meet at some point of time. Then Covid came along, all such plans were put to rest and now we will never be able to have that meetup with Mihir.

One thing I really respected a lot about him was his true blue (or should I say red!) biking spirit and his unwavering and steadfast love for Ducati. This sometimes landed us on opposing ends of this bike vs that bike (Ducati) whatsapp and forum discussions but it was always in good spirits. I used to sometimes share pictures of the Benelli TRK 502 and deliberately mistake it for the Ducati Multistrada and appreciate its styling and so on.

In fact, anytime anyone mentioned the word bike upgrade, we all knew that Mihir would roll out the red carpet to the VST showroom and ensure that the test ride bike was available. We used to jokingly ask Mihir if he at least getting a free t-shirt or some gifts from the dealership for the number of sales that he enabled for them. I even remember telling him once that if only he had created an ownership thread on the forum, he would have increased Ducati's India sales numbers even further! This is but a small piece of the fun, online persona with a big sense of humour that we all saw.

Outside of his online self, I have heard from many BHPians that he was a very quiet and kind hearted soul and a very good friend. Sadly I never got a chance to meet him before he moved to a better place. His passing has undeniably left a void in the motorcycling community, it is always hard when a fellow biker is no more. It is even more so, when someone so young is taken from us.

Once this Covid pandemic passes away, the rest of us will have that Toit meet in your memory, buddy.

[rohitoasis]

If feels hard to imagine a person behind the handle. But the beauty of this forum is that we get so detailed reviews and so beautiful travelogues that we end up connecting with the people behind the handles, what they like, what they don't. We get to know the people behind the handles pretty well. When they go away abruptly like this, it feels like one of your own has gone.

Thanks for this forum and the threads, i distinctly recognize this person and his love for his bike. His bike and that unique looking clutch cover like i had actually inspected the bike myself. Though we have not have interacted before, It will be sad we will have one less enthusiastic biker in our forum.

Godspeed my friend.

[roby_dk]

Sad to hear about sudden demise of such a lively soul.

May his soul rest in peace and God gives his family enough strength to bear the loss.

I read the entire thread but didn't get the reason of his death. Can anyone please confirm?

[NPV]

Shocking news, may his soul rest in peace.
Condolences and prayers with the family.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by roby_dk

Sad to hear about sudden demise of such a lively soul.

May his soul rest in peace and God gives his family enough strength to bear the loss.

I read the entire thread but didn't get the reason of his death. Can anyone please confirm?

It is believed that it was a cardiac arrest that led to Mihir's passing away. I do not know if a post mortem has been done to ascertain the exact cause.

[AZT]

Sad to hear. He looks young and I can't imagine what his family must be going through.
Condolences to his family and friends. Rest in Peace champ.

[r_nairtvm]

RIP Mihir - May God Give his soul eternal peace and plenty of "dreams to chase" (Those who were his WA contacts would have noticed his status "Chasing Dreams")

I have met him only once at a breakfast - a farewell to a buddy going on an overseas assignment. He came on his favorite stead. After that we used to exchange WA on a 1 on 1 basis as well

We were part of a WA group of like minded riders, though he was 20 years younger to me. The group we used to have lively exchanges and his retorts and one liners, when some one tried to pull down Ducati, showed a matured soul and was indeed knew a lot of stuff about the technicalities of two wheelers and history of his favorite brand - Ducati.

Sometime in mid May 2020 he decided to leave that WA group with a terse message that he was taking a "social media break"

I was a bit concerned and send him a WA message - it went like this



Little did I realize that he was literally going to be MIA

Ride well Friend wherever you are "Chasing Your Dreams"

[shaikhmimran]

I would like to thank the community for the beautiful eulogies for our Mihir Bhai. My father used to tell me that the Hallmark of a decent person is that the narrative about him is consistent among people and that is very evident here.
From my view, Mihir had amazing clarity of thought, intellect, wouldn't get swayed in face of friendly badgering or ganging up, held his ground with grace, was friendly, kind-hearted to almost a fault, extremely helpful & always smiling.
I remember he offered me his bike to ride when I had a humble CBR 250. That too on first ride together iirc. I declined as his bike was very expensive so he said, atleast sit and see. That was his big heartedness.
I will remember our free wheeling conversations in evenings over cups of our favourite chai. He always used to drink 2 cups everytime and that used to make me smile.
He used to tell me that don't kill the desires of the 18 year old inside of you. Get the best (bike, accessories, gear) that you can afford. He used to live life king size but still sharp about finances. He was a private person but sometimes gave a selective sneak peek into his life beyond bikes. Spoke about his parents with lot of pride.
I will miss you Mihir bhai & cannot bear to think that you are gone when I am not in Bangalore. Somewhere I blame the lockdown that might have played a hand in your fate and it breaks my heart.
Have numbed myself to it for now as the reality is unimaginable.
Will miss our out of the blue WA msgs, sarcastic humour, grounded advice & chai meets.
I cannot imagine the loss that your parents & brother are facing and pray to Allah that he gives them strength. If they read this, please know that he was very proud of his upbringing & the values that you imbibed. To the Broz, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you did.
Thankfully, apart from the conversations, I have a something from Mihir Bhai with me to remember by. I wear his Shoei helmet .
You went too soon. Until we meet again Bhai.

[NowNew7]

I was introduced to Mihir as a colleague about 3 years ago, and had been working and interacting with him regularly ever since. He was soft spoken, respectful and mild mannered, though clear in his convictions and assertive with what he believed.

While his intro email called him out as "an avid tech & PC gaming enthusiast and a petrol-head", I came to see his biker persona much later when he landed up for a industry event with his fancy steed and headgear.

I never got to know that he was fellow (rather senior to me) BHPian, and hailing from my own hometown until I came to know about the sad news. Wish could have got to know you better.

You started this next journey much too soon my friend. Wish you tailwinds and happy riding wherever you are...

[agspins]

Very Sad News....May his Soul rest in Peace.

[AtheK]

Just couple of days back, once i had put the Ninja on sale, i was thinking it's time to tell Mihir Bhai that it's time to go Red. Even though we pulled his legs all the time for him to trying to sell the ducati to everyone, he always took it sportingly. Wanted to ping him and tell him that soon i will reach out to him to take help in getting a pre owned bike. Well, never knew it won't happen.

I have had few rides with him, and i remember sitting with him having breakfast, when he spoke about how he would rather fulfill all his desires then own a House and pay EMI for half his life, he was crystal clear in his thought process.

The last ride we had together was sometime before lock down, and he was his normal calm self, looking at my bike and calmly telling me, not much life left in the tyres buddy. Then once i rode the Ninja 1000 and looked at him(not too immpressed), and him calmly telling me, you now need to ride the multi, and i told him definitely next time. Well we will ride together again brother, but it will be some wait.

If i do end up buying the Panigale, i would fondly name it EthanHunt, and my resolve to get that bike has just got stronger. Also a huge call out to broz group for what they did, i am personally not a part of this group, but know the admin and will make sure to thank him personally.

The mighty red and my bike side by side.



God bless you Mihir Bhai, may a red star shine on you always.

[shashank.nk]

RIP Mihir! I never got a chance to meet him in person but since we've been on the forum for a while, I've read a lot of his posts and like has already been said, his love for Ducati was obvious.

May his soul rest in peace and God give strength to his family and friends to overcome this terrible loss!

[Snehal Sekhar]

Real shocking news this is. I still remember the banter our riding group had everyday about the Ducati and he defending the brand. He was the unofficial brand ambassador and was a very active member on our riding group. Not a single day would pass without a discussion on good food and/or Ducatis. You left too soon buddy. Rest in peace brother.