Connect with us

News Wire

HarperCollins India presents ‘The War Diary of Asha-san: From Tokyo to Netaji’s Indian National Army’ by Lt Bharati ‘Asha’ Sahay Choudhry, translated by Tanvi Srivastava

NEW DELHI, Oct. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — In June 1943, seventeen-year-old Bharati “Asha” Sahay, a headstrong Indian teenager living in Japan during the Second World War, decides to join the Rani of Jhansi Regiment of the Indian National Army after meeting Subhas Chandra Bose. She starts to jot down her thoughts in a diary, and thus begins one of the most significant personal accounts of the Indian freedom movement.

Biography, Memoir and True Story | History | Non-fiction

Hardback | 252 pp | Rs 599 | Releasing 28th Oct 2022

 

HarperCollins Publishers India Logo

 

“Lt Bharati ‘Asha’ Sahay Choudhry—Asha-san in her first home in Japan—tells the gripping story of her unusual life. As the eldest daughter of a couple of Indian expatriate freedom fighters, she had burned with the desire to fight for the independence of her faraway motherland, India. She was allowed to leave her war-torn first home, Japan, to join the Rani of Jhansi Regiment of the Indian National Army by her commander-in-chief Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, at the age of only seventeen, in March 1945. After the defeat of the Indian National Army in August 1945, she came to India in 1946, where she made her new home in the country to which she had devoted her love and her wish to sacrifice everything. With her indomitable spirit she is a true Rani of Jhansi in her ripe age.”

— Anita Bose Pfaff, daughter of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

ABOUT THE BOOK

In June 1943, seventeen-year-old Bharati “Asha” Sahay, a headstrong Indian teenager living in Japan during the Second World War, decides to join the Rani of Jhansi Regiment of the Indian National Army after meeting Subhas Chandra Bose. She starts to jot down her thoughts in a diary, and thus begins one of the most significant personal accounts of the Indian freedom movement.

Together with her father, Anand Mohan Sahay—a close companion of Bose—and others committed to the cause of Indian independence, Asha forges a path that takes her from war-torn Tokyo to the jungles of Thailand. She learns how to hold a rifle and shoot the enemy, and she discovers what it means to be a patriot fighting for the liberation of a country she has no memories of but carries deep in her heart.

Written in Japanese between 1943 and 1947, and translated into English for the first time by Tanvi Srivastava, The War Diary of Asha-san is a memoir of courage, honour and love, by a young girl who must grow up quickly in the midst of war.

Lt Bharati “Asha” Sahay Choudhry says, “When I originally wrote the Hindi version of my war memoirs in 1972, it was from scraps of paper and from my memories of my tumultuous teenage years in Japan, the country of my birth, in the 1940s. That it has now been translated into English by my granddaughter-in-law, Tanvi, is especially gratifying—she has been able to capture my emotions and the passion of those days. I have always wanted the youth of today to know the sacrifices of those freedom fighters who gave us free India. While this book is a personal story, encapsulated within it is the history of our struggle for freedom. I hope that the love for India will propel our youth to make it a ‘sone ki chiriya’ (golden bird) once again. I hope The War Diary of Asha-san is read by every young Indian, especially our girls.”

Tanvi Srivastava says, “It is an honour to share The War Diary of Asha-san with a new generation of readers. Translating this book, however, was a fortuitous accident. Sometime last year, I read an article by Jhumpa Lahiri advising emerging writers to try their hand at translation, treating it as a form of ‘literary apprenticeship.’ On my bookshelf was my grandmother-in-law’s war memoirs. I thought translating it would be a good way of getting to know her better while improving my craft. Little did I know then that translation is all about discovery—discovering Asha-san’s state of the mind, discovering myself as a writer and translator, and discovering the historical context of the story—the remarkable world of the Azad Hind Government. It was a privilege to research the Indian National Army and to learn about young men and women like Asha-san who sacrificed everything for Netaji’s idea of independent India—an inclusive, pluralistic India.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND THE TRANSLATOR

Lt Bharati “Asha” Sahay Choudhry was born in Kobe, Japan, in 1928 and joined the Rani of Jhansi Regiment of the Indian National Army at the age of seventeen. Her father, Anand Mohan Sahay, was a minister in the cabinet of the Azad Hind Government and a political adviser to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Asha is currently ninety-four years old and lives in Patna with her son, Sanjay.

Tanvi Srivastava is a writer of fiction and has published short stories both online and in print. She is also a travel entrepreneur specializing in African expeditions. Tanvi is married to Asha’s grandson and lives in Bangalore with her two wild children.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK

“Bharati ‘Asha’ Sahay’s war diary is a deeply moving first-hand account of the patriotic fervour of the Azad Hind movement led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as seen through the eyes of an idealistic teenager as she travelled from Japan via Taiwan to Thailand to join the Rani of Jhansi Regiment. It documents the dramatic impact of the saga of Netaji and the INA on the Indian people in the aftermath of World War II, as she travels across India with her father Anand Mohan Sahay and is eventually reunited with her mother Sati Sen in 1947. This evocative translation of a diary originally written in Japanese will be an inspiration for the younger generation of Indians on the 75th anniversary of independence.”

— Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs, Harvard University, and author of His Majesty’s Opponent: Subhas Chandra Bose and India’s Struggle Against Empire

“A valuable first-hand account of an important part of history, still relatively untold, when the struggle for Indian independence crossed paths with the war in the Far East. Asha-san’s memoirs bring out her love for Japan, as well as her fierce love for India, and provide a cultural cross-reference that is not available in Allied accounts of the Second World War. Seen through the unfiltered lens of a seventeen-year-old who signs up for the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, it is a glimpse into the leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose in the Far East and the organization of the INA. This translation will bring a complicated story to a wider readership. It shows that the narrative of war and independence is never black-and-white, and not always the one told by the victors.”

— Shrabani Basu, author of Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant

“This is a beautiful, engrossing book that I wholeheartedly recommend to every Indian. The role of militant women in national liberation struggles is forgotten all too soon, and they become mere footnotes in history. Lt Bharati ‘Asha’ Sahay Choudhry, of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment of the Indian National Army, is a historical figure in our nation’s freedom struggle, and this memoir, in her own words, makes for exhilarating reading. It is humorous (as when she learns Hindi) and exciting (as when she learns to fire a machine gun)—and I urge you to pick up this brilliant memoir.”

— Meena Kandasamy, author of When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife

About HarperCollins India

HarperCollins India publishes some of the finest writers from the Indian Subcontinent and around the world, publishing approximately 200 new books every year, with a print and digital catalogue of more than 2,000 titles across 10 imprints. Its authors have won almost every major literary award including the Man Booker Prize, JCB Prize, DSC Prize, New India Foundation Award, Atta Galatta Prize, Shakti Bhatt Prize, Gourmand Cookbook Award, Publishing Next Award, Tata Literature Live! Award, Gaja Capital Business Book Prize, BICW Award, Sushila Devi Award, Sahitya Akademi Award and Crossword Book Award. HarperCollins India also represents some of the finest publishers in the world including Harvard University Press, Gallup Press, Oneworld, Bonnier Zaffre, Usborne, Dover and Lonely Planet. HarperCollins India is now the recipient of five Publisher of the Year Awards – In 2021 and 2015 at the Publishing Next Industry Awards, and in 2021, 2018 and 2016 at Tata Literature Live. HarperCollins India is a subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers.

Logo – https://oyefilmy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/harpercollins-india-presents-the-war-diary-of-asha-san-from-tokyo-to-netajis-indian-national-army-by-lt-bharati-asha-sahay-choudhry-translated-by-tanvi-srivastava-1.jpg

For reviews, excerpts, interviews, and more information, please contact Vandana Rathore at vandana.rathore@harpercollins.co.in.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

News Wire

Reliance Digital Launches ‘Baaptaa’, a Father’s Day Campaign Celebrating the Many Expressions of Fatherhood

MUMBAI, India, June 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Reliance Digital has launched ‘Baaptaa’, a Father’s Day campaign to celebrate the many expressions of fatherhood. Built around a simple cultural observation, while “Maa ki Mamta” has long been a part of India’s collective vocabulary, there has never been a word that captures the distinct ways fathers express love, the campaign introduces ‘Baaptaa’ as a tribute to the many shades of fatherhood.

Conceptualised as an original music-led campaign, Baaptaa celebrates fathers not as idealised figures, but as they are experienced in everyday life, protective, dependable, emotional, quirky, practical, occasionally embarrassing, and always present. Through a relatable narrative, the campaign acknowledges the countless ways fathers care for their families, often through actions rather than words.

Watch Video: https://youtu.be/9XyUsJB33Ds?si=PM67vhxrzth1JEkz 

At the heart of the campaign is an original music video told from a father’s perspective, capturing the different roles he plays across life’s moments and milestones. The film brings to life the humour, warmth and unspoken affection that characterise father-child relationships, while giving a name to a form of love that many recognise but few have articulated.

The campaign stems from a simple insight: while motherhood has often found expression through familiar phrases and popular references, the unique language of fatherhood has remained largely undefined. Baaptaa seeks to fill that gap by creating a term that reflects the everyday gestures, practical wisdom and quiet sacrifices that fathers make.

Father’s Day communication often leans into familiar emotional territory, but Reliance Digital’s campaign celebrates fathers in a way that feels more culturally authentic and relatable. The idea for ‘Baaptaa’ came from a simple observation — mother’s love has been immortalised in a number of heartfelt, emotional songs, there needed to be an anthem dedicated to dad’s love. And thus was born Baaptaa – a love language that is often awkward, practical, protective, humorous and deeply felt, even if rarely verbalised. It’s a celebration of fatherhood in all its wonderfully imperfect forms immortalized by a song that you won’t be able to stop humming.

Shop for the widest range of electronics at Reliance Digital and thank your father for his Baaptaa.

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/reliance-digital-launches-baaptaa-a-fathers-day-campaign-celebrating-the-many-expressions-of-fatherhood-302805505.html

Continue Reading

News Wire

Harper Collins Publishers India is Delighted to Announce the Recent Publication of ‘People We Love’ by Preeti Shenoy

NEW DELHI, June 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — HarperCollins Publishers India is delighted to share the recent publication of People We Love by bestselling author Preeti Shenoy. At once tender and sharp, this collection of stories offers intimate, truthful and relatable portraits of the people we cherish, the ones we lose, and the people we become.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The people we love never truly leave our story…

In these tender yet piercing stories, Preeti Shenoy returns to some of her most beloved characters to reveal who they were before they appeared in her bestselling novels It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have.

Aniket, a coder, carries the weight of a longing for Trisha that he cannot bring himself to act on. Nidhi abandons her corporate life to teach pottery, only to discover that clay is far more forgiving than the people she loves. A quiz competition sparks an unlikely romance between Aman and Shruti, one that must withstand parental disapproval and class divides. And Anjali, a journalist, is so busy chasing stories that she almost misses the one unfolding in her own life.

Set against the pulse of contemporary India, People We Love explores the tug-of-war between duty and desire, family and freedom, who we are and who we dare to be. Intimate and deeply felt, these are stories about love that stays, leaves and almost slips away … love that quietly and irrevocably shapes the people we become.

Preeti Shenoy, author, says, “People We Love is a collection of three long stories, prequels to my bestsellers It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have. If you have read those books, you already know how these characters’ stories unfold. But what you don’t know yet is where it all began, the loves they carried, the choices they made, and the people they were before life shaped them into who you met on those pages. Writing these prequels felt like returning to a home I hadn’t realised I missed, and discovering rooms I had never been in before.”

Rashmi Menon, Associate Publisher – HarperCollins India, adds, “Preeti Shenoy has an extraordinary gift for finding the heartbeat of ordinary lives. People We Love is a warm, wise and deeply humane collection of short stories that reunites readers with favourite characters from her bestselling novels It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have, weaving them into fresh, deeply satisfying narratives. These characters feel like people you know, and their journeys will move, comfort and surprise you. This uplifting, thought–provoking collection reminds us why we turn to stories in the first place. We couldn’t be more excited to share it with our readers.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Preeti Shenoy is among the highest-selling authors in India. She was featured on the Forbes longlist of the most influential celebrities in India. Her books include When Love Came Calling, Wake Up Life, Is Calling, Life Is What You Make It, The Rule Breakers, A Hundred Little Flames, It’s All in the Planets, Why We Love the Way We Do, The Secret Wish List, The One You Cannot Have and many others. Her work has been translated into many Indian languages. Preeti is also a motivational speaker, an avid fitness enthusiast, and an artist specializing in portraiture and illustrated journalling. Preeti lives in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

ABOUT HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS INDIA

At HarperCollins Publishers India, we believe in telling the best stories and ensuring they reach the widest readership. We publish around 250 new books every year across 10 imprints, adding to a diverse catalogue of more than 3,000 titles in print and digital formats, with an array of genres and voices that ensure there is a book for every reader. Our authors have won some of the most prestigious literary awards, and we are proud to publish many acclaimed writers, alongside new and emerging voices shaping contemporary literature. We are also the publishers of The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, winner of the Booker Prize 2008, and Girl in White Cotton by Avni Doshi, shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020, and HarperCollins India itself has been awarded “Publisher of the Year” several times. In addition, we represent some of the finest global publishers such as Harvard University Press, Lonely Planet, Oneworld, Nosy Crow, Usborne, and National Geographic Children, bringing Indian readers access to world-class books and ideas. We are also proud to be certified as a Great Place to Work for two consecutive years, a recognition of our culture, people, and values that make HarperCollins India a truly inspiring workplace. 

PRESS CONTACT:

Nandini Tripathi, Manager – Marketing (Commercial)

Email: nandini.tripathi@harpercollins.co.in | Mobile: +91 9718928839

Photo: https://oyefilmy.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/harper-collins-publishers-india-is-delighted-to-announce-the-recent-publication-of-people-we-love-by-preeti-shenoy-1.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2105077/4665143/HarperCollins_Logo.jpg

 

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/harper-collins-publishers-india-is-delighted-to-announce-the-recent-publication-of-people-we-love-by-preeti-shenoy-302805348.html

Continue Reading

News Wire

Fulfilling PM Modi’s Dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat: India’s AI Writing Startup Kreativespace Incubated at IIT Kharagpur

  1. Kreativespace, an Indian AI-powered writing platform founded by Vinet Kakadea, has been incubated at IIT Kharagpur and recognized by SVNIT University, Ministry of Education under Bodhan AI Conclave also through the NVIDIA Inception Program, AWS Startup Program, and DPIIT under Startup India.
  2. The platform unifies 8 AI-powered writing tools, along with AI Humanizer and Message AI feature being the latest addition into a single ecosystem, so you can generate and refine content all in one place.
  3. The company reports more than 50,000+ signed-up users, 75,000+ anonymous users, and roughly 100,000 monthly website visitors, positioning itself as the only Indian company operating at scale in the global AI writing market.

SURAT, India, June 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Kreativespace, an AI-powered writing platform, is building out its position as the only homegrown alternative in a market long dominated by international tools such as Grammarly and QuillBot. Founded by Vinet Kakadea and incubated at IIT Kharagpur, the company has aligned its growth with the broader push behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) initiative, which encourages indigenous technology development capable of competing on a global scale.

Kreativespace Incubated at IIT Kharagpur

As AI adoption accelerates across India’s education, research, and enterprise sectors, Kreativespace is among a small group of Indian startups building writing technology designed to compete directly with established international platforms.

Kreativespace’s progress has been recognized by several institutions central to India’s startup and technology ecosystem. The company has been incubated at IIT Kharagpur, selected under SSIP 2.0 through SVNIT University, and chosen by the Ministry of Education to present its work at the Bodhan AI Conclave. It has also been accepted into the NVIDIA Inception Program and the AWS Startup Program, and holds DPIIT recognition under the Startup India initiative.

Where many writing-tool users rely on separate subscriptions for content generation to refinement for grammar correction, paraphrasing, plagiarism checking, citation generation, and editing, Kreativespace brings these functions into a single platform as a super-app for AI writing tools. The company says its approach centers on affordability and accessibility alongside performance, aiming to make advanced AI writing assistance available to a wider range of users regardless of geography or budget.

The idea for Kreativespace took shape while founder Vinet Kakadea was studying at New York University and Marymount University in the United States, where he experienced firsthand how students, researchers, and professionals often need multiple paid subscriptions to cover writing-related tasks. That fragmented experience led him to build a super-app offering each of these capabilities together, at a more accessible price point.

Kreativespace combines 8 AI-powered writing tools with AI Humanizer and Message AI feature being the latest addition, allowing users to generate, rewrite, refine, and humanize content without moving between separate platforms. The product is available via web platform, mobile apps on the App Store and Google Play, browser extensions for Chrome, Mozilla, and Edge, and a Google Docs add-on.

Vinet Kakadea, Founder of Kreativespace, said, “Kreativespace’s vision is to digitalize the entire Indian education ecosystem to support PM Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme.”

About Kreativespace

Kreativespace with the Motto of Making Writing Accessible for Everyone: Kreativespace is an AI-powered writing platform built to make AI writing tools accessible, affordable, and effective for students, researchers, educators, professionals, content creators, startups, and enterprises. Founded by Vinet Kakadea, the company is incubated at IIT Kharagpur and has been recognized by AWS Startup Program, the NVIDIA Inception Program, and DPIIT under Startup India. For more information, visit kreativespace.com.

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/fulfilling-pm-modis-dream-of-atmanirbhar-bharat-indias-ai-writing-startup-kreativespace-incubated-at-iit-kharagpur-302804117.html

Continue Reading

Trending