India, March 12 -- The first time I drove into Koyna, it was almost accidental. I had been on familiar routes across western Maharashtra, weekends in Mahabaleshwar, quick monsoon escapes to Lonavala and treks to Raigad fort and others. Koyna in Maharashtra was meant to be a detour, a brief stop between Satara and the onward drive toward the Konkan coast. I planned to see the dam, stretch my legs, maybe take a few photographs, and continue.

But somewhere after the last cluster of roadside stalls, the traffic thinned, the mobile network dipped, and the Western Ghats closed in. There were no selfie points, no blaring music from tourist jeeps, no neon signboards announcing "lake view rooms". Just forest, a vast sheet of backwater, and a stil...