FARTHEST FIELD: AN INDIAN STORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Raghu Karnad | 320 pages | 04 Jun 2015 | HarperCollins Publishers | 9780008133238 | English | London, United Kingdom Farthest Field: An Indian Story of the Second World War PDF Book One can hope that young Indians approach this history in that spirit, because at its core, this is the story of young people, quite like themselves, trying to lead secular and modern lives, with the puckered lips and raised eyebrows of Indian tradition glowering all around. Must read. Though , serving under the command of the Imperialists from Britain, the confusion in the minds of the enlisted soldiers is shown through the miseries of the Bengal Famine as well as the wars in the North East. He also hints at the ostracism faced by his grandmother when she married outside the community ie Gannny or Ganapati. He doesn't know what they said nor thought. Though , serving under the command of the Imperialists from Britain, the confusion in the minds of the enlisted soldiers is shown through t It is a lamentable fact that the contribution of Indian soldiers during the Second World War has not received adequate attention and there are numerous stories that still remain untold. I didn't enjoy it at all. The tribulations of this Army in lands far from home are bro Books are special for they often shed light on history forgetten, facts diluted and memories locked away. Their experiences may have been heroic, but their fates no less tragic for Karnad's family. It carries us from Madras to Peshawar, Egypt to Burma—unfolding the saga of a young family amazed by their swiftly changing world and swept up in its violence. View 1 comment. World War II is slipping further and further away from us. Indeed, learning of Churchill's poor regard for the subcontinent that was the economic engine of the Empire was illuminating and troubling. Vested political interests conniving to present a selective or an incomplete version of history through the school curriculum also doesn't help improve the situation. Books are special for they often shed light on history forgetten, facts diluted and memories locked away. Lying in their cholera beds, they told of Anglo-Indian families whose darker-skinned daughters were turned away from camps for Europeans; of columns of Indian refugees held back until Europeans had passed, so the roads would be less begrimed; of elephants struggling up the slopes, hind legs quivering, as they carried mahogany desks out over the bodies of children. Liberation of Goa India China War India-Pakistan War This section of the site was the first ever detailed narration of the Air War on the Internet - which subsequently got published as a book. Raghu Karnad has arrived. This book is just one of the millions of such stories. Nov 05, Chetana rated it it was ok. Through the personal stories of three Indian officers in his family, all of them sacrificed in the meat-grinder of the Second World War, Raghu tells us the story of India, the blanked out pages of our history books that fail to mention anything about the largest volunteer force in the world at the time. I was tempted to give this book 3 stars; while each chapter is penned evocatively the story as a whole felt a bit stilted. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Open Preview See a Problem? Then he learned about the Parsi boy from the sleepy south Indian coast, so eager to follow his brothers- in-law into the colonial forces and onto the front line. Such a focus makes the retelling of the war come alive, as does Karnad's almost novelistic style. But this specifically is the story of India, an unformed nation at the time and the army that made it into a state. Search the FT Search. Reading Karnad's book brought to mind for me another account of war, Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth. Other editions. So predictably they were excited. The Saviors of Paris. We never thought about or even heard of the Burma India Theatre. This is notable for being written by an Indian, who gives careful weight to the aftermath, in which men returning from WWII found that they had fought for the wrong side of history, and, if they wished to be heroes, had to continue fighting for the new nation. This is the story of the Fourteenth Army which sacrificed so many in the mosquito and leech infested jungles of India's North East, Indians, British, Nepalis, West and East Africans, Gambians: everyone has its story to tell. Email Icon. Community Reviews. But one thing we should not do -- and I think this is Karnad's great message -- is forget them, no matter how we judge them. Between the rains, the dirt, the cry of the sick and dying, the sleeplessness, the pain, the diarrhea, the thirst, the terror, the loneliness, the heat, and the utter hopelessness, the soldier had a gun to his face and a gun to his back. Farthest Field: An Indian Story of the Second World War Writer What he misses does not detract from the overall story, nor from the appeal of the book to most readers. But here they are listening, positively rapt, to stories from Keren in and Kohima in … And we are left with the slightly resentful feelings of dedicated small-group fans who used to follow an obscure band through one-night gigs in smoky dives, before they suddenly and meteorically shot to Grammy-level fame …. One of the great accomplishments of Raghu Karmad's book "Farthest Field: An Indian Story of the Second World War" is how calmly he keeps judgement at bay while the describing the horrors his characters experience in the jungles of Burma. He never defines it, but it seems to mean "reconstructive" Each of these images captures a portion of the war, but none by themselves can convey the totality of the conflict that was waged in many different regions, some often overshadowed by the fighting elsewhere. There are two problems that I have with it: One is that the reader needs to already have a pretty thorough grounding in Indian history right before this period, and while I have some, a lot of references just slipped past me. Necessity forced changes in the Indian army, but some of the bad old ways lingered. The author puts it nicely- "In general , their memories, like all memories, were smoothed and polished by time, as pebbles in a stream. One can hope that young Indians approach this history in that spirit, because at its core, this is the story of young people, quite like themselves, trying to lead secular and modern lives, with the puckered lips and raised eyebrows of Indian tradition glowering all around. Raghu Karnad's poor and mangled prose ruined the book, which sought to address such a powerful piece of history. View 1 comment. More filters. Kosh marries Manek who is a pilot in the fledgling Indian Air Force. You know the saying: There's no time like the present Or, if you are already a subscriber Sign in. So predictably they were excited. Even as they fought and died, the British continued to treat them like second-class citizens and failed to stop a famine that killed millions. Difficult, assuming prior knowledge of Indian politics and history. The years might be the most revered, deplored, and replayed in modern history. In the afterword, the author provides a lucid summary of the events and the role of various agencies in India during the crucial period of Raghu Karnad is an award-winning writer and journalist who lives between Bangalore and New Delhi, India. Companies Show more Companies. Reading about Bobby and his Bengal Sappers moving into coastal Burma, the imagery to me was strengthened by the recollection of the great movie. Trial Try full digital access and see why over 1 million readers subscribe to the FT. However, if you would like to, you can change your settings at any time using the Change cookie settings link in the Special menu. He dies there due to asthma. By contrast his uncles had more direct experiences of war, serving in combat against the Japanese in Burma and northeastern India. The years —45 might be the most revered, deplored, and replayed in modern history. Community Reviews. Ganny and Nugs being one such couple that gets caught up in the whirlwind of war. Using family records and the histories of the conflict, he describes their lives and their wartime experiences, highlighting some of those often overshadowed aspects of the war. Well researched, finely crafted, and brilliantly written. He doesn't know what they said nor thought. Vested political interests conniving to present a selective or an incomplete version of history through the school curriculum also doesn't help improve the situation. The author really conveys the general unpleasantness of warfare for both sides in the desert of North Africa, and even worse the conditions in the jungles of Burma, almost as if he had experienced them himself. In their exuberance, one of the more innocent ones asked me a simple question: " How many Indian soldiers are there in Congo as part of the Peacekeeping force? More Details The writing of history intersects gloriously with several other genres in this moving, eloquent, intelligent work. Must read. Farthest Field: An Indian Story of the Second World War Reviews At once ribbing and respectful, the definition runs like this: " The Parsis: pale as scalps, mad as coots, noses like commas on the page.