Thursday, April 16, 2009

Uncle's life in imperial India inspires author

A man was so inspired by his late great-uncle’s bravery as a soldier in 1930s India, he penned a novella in his honour, says the Kilnarnock Standard. James Coghlan, 36, wrote The Impossible Journey after discovering photographs and negatives relating to his uncle, John Coghlan, who was an intelligence officer in India with the Indian Imperial Army.

And as his uncle had never spoke about his work in India, and the amazing journey he made from Rawalpindi to London by car in 1939, he had to summon up his imagination to piece together the details – without ever having set foot in the country.

James, a former pupil of Kilmarnock Academy, finally travelled to India in January to launch the book at the Scotland-Kolkata (Calcutta) Connections 2009 festival’s book fair, where he received a warm welcome. “Although I have never been to India, it is my love for the country that egged me on to write this book,” said James.

No comments:

Post a Comment