In Search of the Past: Part 11: Ooty, Queen of the Hill Stations

Our antique steam train delivers us to Ootacamund—Ooty—around noon. Queen of the hill stations, Ooty is a leafy escape from the hot plains. Pre-Independence, our colonial-era hotel, the Taj Savoy, was favored by the Indian and British elite. During research for my true-life Hollywood-India project, I learned my maharaja’s family had a summer home in Ooty. … Read more

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