Review of the Book ‘The Wrong Turn: Love and Betrayal in the Time of Netaji’
Theme
“The Wrong Turn is a story that traverses the cities of Calcutta, Singapore, Rangoon and Kohima caught up in the blaze of the Second World War. It is about the clash of four desperate forces as they come together in Kohima to vie for the brightest jewel in the crown -- India. Victory will come to those who possess not just the coldest steel but even colder hearts.”
Main Characters
Debraj, the rakish playboy and scion of a distinguished Calcutta family, and Nishonko, the fiery revolutionary sworn to the cause of the INA, must not only fight their common enemy, but also for the love of Aditi, the rebel with the healing touch. A haunting tale of love, friendship and betrayal of an entire nation, The Wrong Turn veers inexorably towards a poignant redemption.
Plot
1944, Kohima — a small, sleepy town in northeast India. Subhash Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army (INA) along with the Japanese, are on the brink of bringing the Empire to its knees and forcing the British out of India. But, inexplicably, the tables turn. The INA’s advance is thwarted and the victory march to Delhi is halted. Seventy years later, the British admit that the Battle of Kohima was the greatest battle they had ever fought. Even more so than the battles of Waterloo and Dunkirk. Was it then that old Indian curse — betrayal? Someone from within Netaji’s own ranks? Were there forces other than the British, waiting in the shadows closer to home, who stood to gain even more from the INA’s defeat? Or was it just love that irrevocably altered the course of India’s destiny? The Wrong Turn: Love and Betrayal in the Time of Netaji, is a sweeping tale of passion set against the freedom struggle.
Review
Purely an Historical fiction done through a compelling narrative by the co-authors ‘The Wrong Turn – Love and Betrayal in the time of Netaji’, is a thrill-cum-romantic account elaborating every character is appropriately defined and projected in a precision that creates an era to adroitly portray a connection with the eon of pre-independence filled with the stories pertaining to events relating around it. Very much an era that takes you back to the beginning of India’s Independence struggle, giving you a picturesque narration personifying the detailed elements filled with live emotions that keeps you thrilled, apprehensive, romantic, in tears and edgy. Narrations that bring the characters and the environment with twists and turns that are just unpredictable, so much alive and gripping that keeps you entertained and glued.
Amidst the endearing sibling relationship filled with jealousy, action, love-struck allegiance, treachery that thrills around the death , miseries and the INA battle, this story takes you to the time of Netaji, pre-independence era, known to most of readers only through the school text book about his formation of the INA and their battles against the Britisher’s. The noteworthy things about Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose have been splendidly and generously delivered. His attitude towards work, nature, thinking, etc. they all keeps you mesmerized.
A must for those book lovers who enjoys reading fiction and also loves stories on Indian Independence struggle and INA Battles
The Wrong Turn: Love and Betrayal in the Time of Netaji
By Sanjay Chopra and Namita Roy Ghose
Published by : Om Books International
Price : Rs 295/-
Total Pages : 375
About the Co-Authors
The Co Authors of the book Namita Roy Ghose and Sanjay Chopra |
Sanjay Chopra, co-author - is an airline pilot and author of two collections of short stories, Said and Done and Tailspin stories. He believes that his office forty thousand feet in the sky and his travels provide him with a view that fuels his vivid storytelling that cuts a wide arc through time and space. His stories have won the Invisible Ink, the Millennium writers and Southport awards in the UK and USA. In the words of his readers, ‘He is a storyteller like those of the old days, yet his stories are as modern as tomorrow.’ He lives in Mumbai with his wife Tisca Chopra, an actress and he is currently working on a film script and a web series.
Namita Roy Ghose, co-author -“This was a story waiting to be told. So much about Netaji was smoke and mirrors, partial views foisted on us by the British and other vested interests. Here was a man who was a personal hero, who was part of the lore of my childhood. And here was a chance to set the narrative straight - through the lens of a very human yet universal story of love.”
During a school project on ‘The most memorable day of my life’, NAMITA ROY GHOSE wrote about a Russian girl on the day WW2 ended. She got her first rejection slip from the teacher for making things up. Ever since, Namita has established her storytelling skills through her scriptwriting, screenplays poetry, fiction, legendary advertising campaigns, and as a renowned advertising film director. A Creative Director with HTA, she left after 13 years to start her own film company, White Light, one of India’s top ad film outfits. A social activist, she is the founder of Vanashakti, an NGO that works to protect the environment. Namita has done pro bono work on issues like domestic violence, child welfare, sexual harassment and forest preservation. She is an avid traveller, a photographer, foodie and teacher.
About Om Books International
One of the largest English trade publishers in the Indian subcontinent, Om Books International is a force to reckon with. It has been a leading enterprise for more than five decades in the Indian publishing and retail industry. Headquartered in Noida, OBI has a diverse publishing list: cinema, biography, memoir, mind-body-spirit, photo essay, art, architecture, lifestyle, fiction - commercial and literary, to name just a few categories. It counts amongst its notable authors Khalid Mohamed, Mushtaq Shiekh, Bharathi S Pradhan, Nasreen Munni Kabir, Rauf Ahmed, Kamala Das, William Dalrymple, Christopher C Doyle and Suhail Mathur.
Om Books International has a stellar lineup of Gourmand World Cookbook Award Winners: Saransh Goila, Maria Goretti, Michael Swamy, Mugdha Savkar, Shazia Khan, Aditya Mehendale and Vikas Khanna.
Some of its forthcoming titles include: The Bachchans by SMM Ausaja, Asha Parekh: The Hit Girl by Asha Parekh and Khalid Mohamed, and Taj Mahal: Multiple Narratives, by Amita Baig and Rahul Mehrotra. OBI has an equally strong and varied children's publishing programme under its imprint, OmKidz.
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