Debnath Das was a close associate of Anand Mohan Sahay in Japan. He is mentioned frequently in Sahay’s memoir Stirring Times and is also mentioned by Lt Bharati ‘Asha’ Sahay in her diary as “Das Kaka”. Prior to his arrival in Thailand, he was in Japan and worked closely with Sahay and Rash Bihari Bose. […]
Thoughts on Writing, Translation & the INA
Best Books of 2023 (A Reading List)
A list of all the books I’ve read in 2023 with two-line reviews. The books (mostly fiction) are listed in reverse chronology. Hopefully, you will find some interesting gems in this list. 1. The Corfu Trilogy — By Gerald Durrell Two-line review: British humour tinged with racism and a lot of natural history. The childhood island […]
Longlisted for the Atta Galatta-Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize 2023
We are thrilled to share that The War Diary of Asha-san has been longlisted for the Atta Galatta-Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize 2023 under non-fiction. This is a book that defies easy classification being part history, part memoir, part literary writing, so we appreciate the organisers for including the book in their longlist. https://agblfprize.in/
Best Writing Tools For Novels (and Non-Fiction Too) — 2024
Dear Writers, Looking to improve your craft? Do you think you’re missing some tools that can help you improve your game? Over the years—mostly through trial and error—I have learned that the simplest tools are the best. So while you may be veering towards Scrivener or the Hemingway App (please, do explore), I’ve found nothing […]
Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction with Patricia Highsmith
I recently read Patricia Highsmith’s book on Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction. It’s a short book of about 120 pages, first published 40 years ago in 1983. Patricia Highsmith is probably best known to modern readers for her Ripley series, specifically The Talented Mr Ripley and Strangers on a Train (both of which have been […]
Names of the Tokyo Boys (INA Cadets)
Who Were The Tokyo Boys (INA Cadets)? The Tokyo Boys or the INA Cadets were a group of 45 young men selected by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to join the Indian National Army and go for advanced training to Japan. 35 cadets joined the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and 10 were selected for the Imperial […]