South India

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

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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 9: South to Pondicherry

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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