It was the nth time I let out a muted frustrated cry looking at my mobile phone. I was tucked up in the Western Ghats of the Chikmagalur-Kudremukh belt with no way to make a phone call if need be. As one of those few souls in India that has not yet taken that wise step to purchase a Jio number just to stay connected in all parts of the country, my frustration was even more evident when my co-travellers were living the time of their life browsing the internet and talking over Jio connections.

    I dumped my phone into my purse and whipped around to stare into the passing landscape. There was nothing much I could do rather than stare at the green rushing by in slow haste as our vehicle pulled itself with all its might over the hilly slopes. But mind you, there’s always a silver lining to the cloud. And just at that point in time when I believed my life was at stake with no mobile connectivity and a what if-there’s-an-emergency wave,....