In Search of the Past: Part 10: The Steam Train to Ooty

An old-time steam train! In India! Sign me up! Long smitten with North India’s fabled Darjeeling Himalayan “toy train,” I embrace the chance for an equally dramatic and harrowing trip in South India. Another UNESCO World Heritage site, the Nilgiri Railway climbs Tamil Nadu’s Blue Mountains to Ootacamund—Ooty—on the steepest track in Asia! The Indian Railways … Read more

In Search of the Past: Part 9: South to Pondicherry

The Coromandel Coast of India. Doesn’t that sound romantic? It always did to me, a realm of spices, silks, and warm sea breezes. During the European colonial period, the two main ports were British Madras and, further south, French Pondicherry.  During World War II, my novel’s character traveled by train south along the coast to Ceylon. Eager to … Read more