April 02, 2016
The first time I listened to Netaji story was when I was 10 years old. It was a Sunday afternoon. My gran pa (paternal) was watching the 5 o’clock Malayalam news. I was sitting on the floor drawing, crayons and sketch pencils scattered all around. The reader broke some news related to Netaji and my gran pa was listening to it intently. He expressed disbelief over some of the contents of the report and I became very curious. I asked him who Netaji Subash Chandra Bose was. He didn’t reply.
It was around 6 o’clock and I was still enjoying my drawing. He called me from the gate and asked if I would like to join him for a walk. I closed my drawing book (didn’t bother about the scattered colours) and rushed outside. I was very fond of him. He told me stories of his childhood. That evening too he had a fascinating story to tell.
My gran pa was 16 years old when he joined the Indian Air Force as an airman under the British command. He served during the WW II till he was discharged after an attack of smallpox.
A few minutes into the walk, he asked me if I knew who Netaji was? I replied in negative. He told me that when he was young, Netaji was his super hero, that he believed it was Netaji who will win India freedom. He went on to tell the thrilling story of Netaji’s daring escape from house arrest, his run incognito from Calcutta to Kabul to Berlin, his meeting with the world leaders, his 90 days submarine journey from Berlin to Tokyo via Cochin, his raising a huge nationalist army singlehandedly, his call for Azadi and “Dilli chalo” slogan, his final (unsuccessful) march to liberate our motherland, the fateful air crash at Formosa…. Every word my gran pa spoke that evening sparkled with his love and admiration for Netaji and Mother India as they sank deep into my heart.
He also remembered how there was a heated discussion among his colleagues on Netaji’s INA marching to Delhi and the moral correctness of an Indian soldier under the British command to strike them. (Later I found out that one of the key missions of IAF during WW II was the blocking of the advance of the Japanese Army in Burma)
I was all ears. Various emotions rose in me. I was thrilled. I was inspired. I felt pain.
As he wound up this gripping tale, I asked him if he ever believed that Netaji survived the air crash and that he will return some day?
He replied, “Had he survived, he wouldn’t have left us (Indians) to our fate in the hands of these thugs.”
I wish my gran pa lived this day to know that Netaji didn’t perish in any air crash but the thugs he was referring to (politicians) colluded with the enemy and prevented his return forever.
—
Śrīnāth Mohandās 