Bird from Afar

‘Chaturvedi goes beyond the admiration and the controversy to chase down the mystique of the man Bose was ... A compelling read’ Pritish Nandy

‘Combines a sure grasp of history with an ability to convert little-known facts into a marvellous fictional page-turner’ Mihir Bose

Nazi Germany, 1942.

Stalingrad has fallen to the Axis powers after a bitter, brutal campaign; in North Africa, Field Marshal Rommel’s Afrika Korps has emerged victorious; Rangoon has been seized by the Japanese after their capture of Singapore. Amidst these developments, Indian nationalist leader Subhas Chandra Bose has been camped in wartime Berlin, since 1941, working furiously to build an army that will be able to march with him overland towards the Indian frontier. Bose is confronted with multiple dilemmas: in order to free India militarily from the clutches of the British empire, he must ally with Hitler’s forces, the Japanese army and Mussolini’s troops. And even if he succeeds, can a post-British India emerge as a single, united country?

Set during a turbulent and complex time in our nation’s history, A Bird from Afar is an unforgettable tale of courage, resilience and Subhas Bose’s obsessive quest for Indian independence during the Second World War.