The story of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s life has been recorded in the voice of his nephew’s wife Krishna Bose.
A two-hour DVD pack was released on Monday, ahead of his birth anniversary on January 23, and in the 75th anniversary year of the first hoisting of the Tricolour on the Indian mainland (by INA soldiers at Moirang, Manipur).
The recording has been enriched with archival photographs from Netaji Research Bureau, of which Krishna is the chairperson.
It takes up the story from his childhood in Cuttack and ends with the trial of the INA officers and India’s freedom.
“I spoke in simple English, keeping in mind an all-India audience and especially the younger generation which lacks a role model and does not know about the sacrifices Netaji made for the country. He sacrificed life as an ICS officer by refusing to take a posting under the British government despite qualifying; he sacrificed political leadership and popularity in a bid to offer an alternative to Gandhiji’s vision; and he sacrificed family life by leaving his wife and newborn daughter in Germany when the war theatre shifted to Asia,” Krishna Bose told Metro.
(From left) Leonard Gordon, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s biographer; Krishna Bose, wife of Netaji’s nephew Sisir Bose; Masayuki Taga, consul-general of Japan in Calcutta; and Sugata Bose, historian and son of Krishna and Sisir Bose, at the launch of a DVD pack on Netaji’s life on Monday. The DVD, narrated by Krishna Bose, contains archival photographs from Netaji Research Bureau. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta
She chose to end with the Red Fort trial to conclude on a positive note. “Indians did not know about Netaji’s heroics till the trial took place. I remember how my parents used to shut the doors and windows when listening to his radio addresses. The British blundered by making the trial a high-profile one. It united Indians and stirred rebellion in the navy in Bombay and the army in Barrackpore. INA’s military defeat became a political victory as it hastened India’s independence.”
She touched upon Netaji’s death but stated only the facts. “He was brought with third-degree burns to the hospital and spoke four times through an interpreter, asking once for meju (Japanese for water), before he succumbed. I want his life to be celebrated, not add fodder to controversies.”
Even at 88, Krishna Bose did not need a script. “She did not even have to consult notes for the recording. The only time she paused was to ask me the name of the INA officer, Cyril J. Stracey, whom Netaji deputed to build the INA Memorial in Singapore,” points out Sumantra Bose, her younger son, who was present at the recording.
“When the proposal came from Bhavna Records I was reluctant,” she smiled. “I even told them that I could not visit a studio.” So a studio was set up at Netaji Bhavan. The recording happened in two phases. “After I did it, I was surprised at how easily I could do it. The unedited version was sent to me while I was in London and I saw it with my elder son Sugata and sister-in-law Anita (Basu Pfaff, Netaji’s daughter) who had come to visit me. Even she was surprised at how I could pull it off.”
“We want to reach out to colleges, schools and universities and will release segments on YouTube and iTunes,” said Biswa Roy of Bhavna Records.