Chapter 36 'Trail' – Comprehensive Summary and Study Notes

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Chapter 36, “Trail,” follows Laks and his uncle Dharmender on a nighttime drive south through British Columbia toward the U.S. border. The chapter opens with Laks naked in the back seat of Dharmender’s Subaru, struggling into a black wet suit provided by the Indian consulate in Vancouver. His waterproof pack is strapped into the passenger seat, and a care package assembled by Gurmeet and others sits on the floor—provisions Dharmender has already arranged to be eaten by bears at a nearby campground, neatly solving the problem of what to do with them.

Dharmender uses the drive to interrogate Laks about his recent movements. He notes that Laks flew directly from Hyderabad to Vancouver but spent only a couple of days there before coming to see him. Laks confirms his parents don’t know about his mission—they believe he’s going to relax in one of Dharmender’s cabins and go fishing. Dharmender presses further, asking whether Laks felt his friends and family in Hyderabad could speak freely, and whether he ever saw people make the gesture of pointing at a light fixture to signal that a room is bugged. Laks doesn’t remember.

The conversation turns to Laks’s recruitment. Laks explains he was recruited by people he met fighting along the Line of Actual Control—specifically Major Raju, who befriended him during his Himalayan exploits and stayed in touch during his convalescence. These Indian Army contacts warned him about drought in the Punjab breadbasket and about weather manipulation in Texas. Dharmender is skeptical, pointing out that the monsoon did come, even if late, and that living with perpetual anxiety about the next monsoon is simply part of being Punjabi. Laks counters that next year it may be later still, and that people are now messing with the weather.

Dharmender cautions Laks about being used. He references Laks’s “fifteen minutes of fame” from the previous year, noting that while the family was proud, there was concern about how such stories end for the man in the turban. He makes a pointed argument about how people like them are expected to follow orders and put themselves in harm’s way on behalf of others—useful for going to the front lines and getting killed, while others overlook the turbans. Laks pushes back, saying someone has to be in the military, but Dharmender insists he’s overstating to make a point.

Midway through the drive, Laks demonstrates an uncanny sense of direction. He corrects Dharmender’s route through a roundabout, noting the first exit would have been faster and that the detour adds 1.23 kilometers. Dharmender is surprised—the intersection was only built last year—but explains he took the longer route because the first road is notoriously rough and winding, and he wanted to make it easier for Laks to get his wet suit on. He also admits he hoped to talk a little sense into Laks during the drive.

As they approach the river, the navigation system shows a turnoff that doesn’t appear to exist. Laks insists it’s there, and indeed a pair of ruts in tall grass appears, leading to a turnaround with old campfire scars and beer cans. Laks says he can literally feel it in his bones, and notes that the researchers at Cyberabad re-wired his olfactory system, though he doesn’t want to explain that to Dharmender. Dharmender teases him about his earlier comparison to a smolt—misremembering it as “fry or smelt”—and Laks confirms he just knows it’s time to head downstream, calling it his destiny.

Before departing, Laks leaves the care package behind, telling Dharmender to tell Aunt Gurmeet it was delicious—not technically a lie, since bears will eat it. As he’s about to leave, Dharmender notices the steel kara bracelet Laks wears on his right wrist has fallen off and landed on the floor. He hands it back with the words “Don’t forget this,” carrying a double meaning. Laks takes the kara, kisses it, slips it on, and jogs toward the black waters of the river, feeling like he’s running downhill.

Key Events

Laks changes into a wet suit in the back of Dharmender’s Subaru during a nighttime drive toward the U.S. border
Dharmender questions Laks about his movements and confirms his parents don’t know about the mission
Laks reveals he was recruited by Indian Army contacts from the Line of Actual Control, including Major Raju
Dharmender warns Laks about being used by others, referencing his earlier fame and the pattern of Sikhs being sent to the front lines
Laks demonstrates his uncanny sense of direction, correcting Dharmender’s route and finding an unmarked turnoff
Laks compares himself to a smolt heading downstream, guided by instinct
The care package is left behind for bears, with Laks asking Dharmender to tell Gurmeet it was delicious
Dharmender returns Laks’s fallen kara bracelet, and Laks kisses it before jogging toward the river

Character Development

Laks is shown in a transitional state, both physically and psychologically. He’s literally changing into a new identity—the wet suit—while his mind is still recovering from his experiences at the Line of Actual Control. His sensory rewiring is evident: he can feel directions in his bones, his inner ear senses a downhill slope toward the water, and he has to suppress the urge to explain his re-wired olfactory system. His guilt about the care package shows a moral awareness that complicates his single-minded mission. The kiss he gives the kara suggests a deep connection to his Sikh identity, even as he’s about to cross a border covertly.

Dharmender serves as the voice of skepticism and experience. He’s protective of Laks, taking the longer route to make the wet suit struggle easier, and he’s clearly worried about the pattern he sees: young Sikh men being used by institutions that don’t have their interests at heart. His reference to the man in the turban and the unhappy endings of such stories reveals a generational wariness. His return of the kara with “Don’t forget this” carries both a literal and symbolic weight—he’s reminding Laks not to forget who he is.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

The kara as symbol: The steel bracelet, one of the five articles of Sikh faith, represents Laks’s identity and connection to his community. It falls off during the wet suit struggle—a moment of vulnerability—and Dharmender’s return of it with “Don’t forget this” carries a double meaning: don’t forget your faith, your family, or who you are as you undertake this mission.

The smolt metaphor: Laks compares himself to a smolt heading downstream, an instinctual migration he can’t fully explain. The metaphor suggests both inevitability and vulnerability—smolts are young fish on a dangerous journey, guided by forces beyond their control.

Surveillance and paranoia: Dharmender’s questions about bugged rooms and the gesture of pointing at a light fixture establish a world where conversations are never fully private. This is a chapter about secrets—Laks’s secret mission, his parents’ ignorance, the Indian Army’s manipulation.

Exploitation of minorities: Dharmender’s argument that people like them are useful for going to the front lines and getting killed is a pointed critique of how institutions use marginalized communities. He sees Laks’s recruitment as part of this pattern.

Climate anxiety: The conversation about the late monsoon and the drought in the Punjab breadbasket grounds the novel’s geoengineering plot in a deeply personal, agricultural reality. The anxiety about next year’s monsoon captures the stakes for the region.

Why This Chapter Matters

“Trail” is the chapter that launches Laks’s covert mission. It transitions him from the relative safety of his uncle’s car to the beginning of his journey toward Texas, and it establishes the moral and emotional complexity of that journey. Dharmender’s warnings about being used by others plant a seed of doubt that will likely bear fruit later in the novel. The chapter also deepens our understanding of Laks’s character—his sensory rewiring, his Sikh identity, his guilt, and his conviction. The kara moment, in particular, is a quiet but powerful beat that connects Laks’s personal faith to the larger political mission he’s undertaking.

Study Questions and Answers

1. What does Dharmender mean when he says “Don’t forget this” while returning the kara?

Dharmender’s words carry a double meaning. On the surface, he’s simply returning the steel bracelet that fell off while Laks was struggling into his wet suit. But the kara is a Sikh religious article, and Dharmender is also reminding Laks not to forget his identity, his faith, and his family as he undertakes this covert mission. The fact that Laks kisses the kara before jogging toward the river suggests he understands and accepts this weight.

2. Why does Dharmender take the longer route to the river?

Dharmender gives two reasons. First, the first road is notoriously rough and winding, and he wants to make it easier for Laks to get his wet suit on in the back seat. Second, and more importantly, he admits he hoped to talk a little sense into Laks during the drive. The longer route buys him more time to make his case against the mission.

3. How does Laks’s comparison of himself to a smolt reflect his state of mind?

A smolt is a young salmon that instinctively migrates downstream to the sea, guided by forces it doesn’t fully understand. Laks uses this comparison to explain his own sense of direction—he can feel where he needs to go, like a sixth sense. The metaphor also captures his vulnerability: he’s a young person on a dangerous journey, guided by instincts and influences (the Indian Army, his sensory rewiring) that he doesn’t fully control. Dharmender’s misremembering of the word as “fry or smelt” adds a touch of humor while underscoring that Laks’s explanation is hard for others to grasp.