Ravana Goes To Silicon Valley: Chapter 1
The road got successively worse until it was no longer a road, but the rented Land Cruiser didn’t seem to mind. It merrily swallowed the irregularities of the terrain, making traveling the barren, rock-strewn mountainside feel like a freshly paved section of the Mumbai - Pune highway. Chandru sent a grateful thought to the fine men and women of Toyota Motors who had created this marvel of automotive technology and sent it his way.
Regardless of how the Land Cruiser felt about the matter, Chandru hated bad roads with a dark, glowing passion. A civil engineer by trade, he had made a small fortune in road construction and regarded any bad road a personal insult. The hatred was only partially tempered by the fact that a bad road meant an opportunity to make money, although the particular stretch of road he’d left behind would never be paved.
Finally the terrain became too much even for the Toyota’s four wheel drive, and Chandru found a reasonably level spot where he could park. He was already regretting the trip, but if he’d come this far he may as well finish the job. He put on his parka and boots, grabbed the ice pick that doubled as a walking stick and stepped out.
Chandru didn’t need a map or compass to find the way. He’d made the trek to the lake many times when they still lived in Chandigarh, first with his father and grandfather, then with his young son, but he hadn’t made it back since they moved to Mumbai and his business really took off.
Things change, Chandru’s wife divorced him and married a lawyer, his son moved to California, and his business partner made him a cash offer for the business he’d be stupid to refuse. He settled in a Cuffe Parade high rise apartment that he paid way too much for, and was content just being retired for a while. Then one day he had the idea to return to the hills and the lake. He took a flight to Delhi, and transferred to a puddle-jumper bound for Shimla where he rented the Land Cruiser, and then it was bad roads for hours deeper into the mountains.