Rishad Saam Mehta is a Mumbai-based travel and automotive writer who followed an unlikely route into journalism. Trained as an electronics and telecommunications engineer, he began his professional life on a corporate path that promised financial comfort and a very respectable future. But the pull of the open road proved stronger. A growing desire to see the world from behind the wheel of a car eventually persuaded him to walk away from a well-paid engineering career and trade spreadsheets and circuit diagrams for highways, mountain passes, and distant horizons.

For more than two decades, his work has revolved around travel in its most immersive sense. His stories often blend driving journeys with culture, food, history and the quiet human moments that give places their character. Whether it is a remote Himalayan road, a coastal drive or a small roadside tea stall, he is drawn into the stories that unfold when one travels slowly and curiously.

Alongside travel writing, he also reviews cars and motorcycles, bringing both enthusiasm and technical understanding to the task. His engineering background gives him a natural ease with mechanical and technical detail, allowing him to evaluate vehicles not just as machines, but as experiences behind the wheel.

Rishad also travels with Tourette’s syndrome and speaks openly about it, often using his experiences to explain the condition and encourage greater understanding.

At heart, he remains a wanderer who believes the best journeys are those taken with time, curiosity and a willingness to stop for conversation, history and a good cup of tea.