MUSSOORIE: Renowned travel writer and Padma Shri awardee Hugh Gantzer passed away at his home in Mussoorie late Monday evening. He was 95.
A towering figure in Indian travel writing, Gantzer received the Padma Shri and, along with his wife and long-time collaborator Colleen Gantzer, earned wide national and international recognition for their work. The couple received six national awards, the National Tourism Lifetime Achievement Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the All India Anglo-Indian Association, and two gold awards from the Pacific Asia Travel Association. In 2017, they were also commended by the Prime Minister’s Office for their pioneering contribution to travel writing in India. Colleen Gantzer passed away in 2024 at the age of 90.
The Gantzers began their professional journey after being commissioned by the India Tourism Development Corporation to write a book on Kerala. Over the next five decades, they produced 52 documentaries for Doordarshan, authored more than 30 books, and wrote widely read travel columns for leading English-language newspapers.
“My father was a passionate man, defined by his love for writing and an unending curiosity about the world,” said his son, Peter Gantzer. “He lived with pride in what he built and gratitude for the life he was given. My parents were inseparable, blending their love for each other with their shared zeal for travel. I hope they are together again now, at peace.”
The burial will take place on Wednesday at Camel’s Back Cemetery in Mussoorie.
Apart from his literary career, Gantzer had a distinguished service record in the Indian Navy, where he served as a commander and judge advocate at the Southern Naval Command. From 1990 onward, he was also a member of the Supreme Court–appointed monitoring committee overseeing environmental issues in the Doon Valley and Mussoorie.
Born and raised in Mussoorie, Gantzer came from an influential Danish lineage. His great-great-grandfather was an officer in the Danish court who arrived in India in the early 19th century. His father, Joseph Francis Gantzer, served as director of survey in Bihar and Orissa under the British government and later settled in Mussoorie after retirement. In 1941, Joseph Gantzer was elected chairman of the Mussoorie Municipal Council and later served as its administrator.
As word of Hugh Gantzer’s passing spread, residents of Mussoorie gathered to bid a tearful farewell to a writer who chronicled India with rare warmth, wit and enduring affection.
