Hugh and Colleen Gantzer

Hugh and Colleen Gantzer are widely regarded as India's pioneering travel writers. Hugh Gantzer, born in 1931 in Patna, served in the Indian Navy before retiring, after which the couple settled in Mussoorie and devoted themselves to writing. Together they authored more than thirty books and thousands of articles, and their Doordarshan travel documentaries brought India's heritage to a national audience. They were awarded the Padma Shri in 2025, conferred posthumously on Colleen Gantzer, who predeceased Hugh. Mussoorie's Mythistory, published by Niyogi Books, presents tales that inhabit the borderland between myth and recorded history.