Senior journalist Vikrant Parmar launched his debut novel “Tunnel Number 33” at Chandigarh Press Club last weekend. Published by Ferntree Publishing, the novel explores memory, mystery, and the lingering presence of the past.
Set along the iconic Shimla-Kalka railway track—home to 103 tunnels and over a century of stories—“Tunnel Number 33” follows Rudra Pratap, a writer in search of meaning, and Mahadev Singh, a legendary train driver believed to carry a mysterious mission tied to the past. Mahadev was something of a legend, more heard about than known. He rested the dead. Rudra wanted a story for his debut novel. Their chance meeting during an ominous journey unfolds into a gripping exploration of memory, history, and unseen presences that quietly shape lives in the hills.
As a boy who grew up in Shimla, Rudra was forever charmed by the tales his mother told him about the storied train, the track and the 103 tunnels on it. Older and worldly-wise after an aborted career in journalism, and also unencumbered and footloose, Rudra felt driven to go back to the hills in a quest to discover himself. He wasn't wrong about a separate reality.
Speaking at the launch, Parmar shared that the mystique surrounding Tunnel Number 33 had fascinated him since childhood. The tunnel has been on the Shimla-Kalka railway track since 1903.
Growing up in Shimla, Parmar had long been drawn to stories about the railway line and its tunnels, as well as to the supernatural folklore that surrounds them. In the novel, these personal memories merge with imagination to create an atmospheric narrative rooted in place and emotion.
Rich in mood and texture, “Tunnel Number 33” unfolds in a landscape of dusk, sleet, and shifting shadows, where the past quietly presses against the present. Rather than relying on conventional scares, the novel evokes a deeply sensory world marked by tension, compassion, and the enduring imprint of history on people and places.
The book has already drawn appreciation from members of the film and literary community. Filmmaker Varun V. Sharma described the debut as “impossible to put down,” adding that the story lends itself naturally to adaptation for screen.
“Vikrant's debut novel reveals a story so compelling that it begs to be adapted into a web series or film,” Sharma said.
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Screenwriter Anand Rathore noted that the narrative “thrills, entertains and surprises,” while author Sahar Gharachorlou highlighted the empathy the novel generates for restless spirits within its eerie setting.
With this debut, Parmar marks a compelling entry into literary fiction, bringing together his journalistic sensitivity, lived experience of the Himalayan landscape, and fascination with folklore into a narrative that resonates with readers seeking both mystery and meaning. He holds a master’s degree in English literature from Delhi University and is a journalist now based in Chandigarh.
“The abiding greatness of the novel is the atmosphere it furls out, apparently without effort, almost compulsively, like a picture that takes shape before even the artist’s wondering eyes. It’s a cold time in the book, intermittently wet with sleet and flurrying, restless flakes. And it's dark. Of dusk and night, and dusk again. As the past chases the present, its clammy wetness caresses the nape of new moments, calling back irresistibly,” said Kabir Mustafi, former headmaster, Bishop Cotton School, Shimla.
“It’s intensely sensual without the furthest hint of anything even remotely erotic. On the contrary, much of it is a snarl of brutality, yet not without strange lapses of brief compassion. And nor is there an ending, really. More a reminder of something enduring, something that’ll always be a part of the lives of those who live among those slopes and trails. Like history,” Mustafi added.
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