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Now available at:

AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Four-minutes-past-midnight-eternity/dp/B0GPHXMDW2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1B67M20CWGU8T&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yjOtEXu5-1FPRAFCjDiQ6w.eilWEcLB3ZQHIBeWrdQTHkKA-_QEeZqBVuG3lwblbuI&dib_tag=se&keywords=Sanjay+R.+Srivatsa+Four+Minutes+past+midnight&qid=1771859636&s=books&sprefix=four+mt%2Cstripbooks%2C2081&sr=1-1

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SUMMARY

Four Minutes Past Midnight: A moment in eternity – A Novel

From 1945 to 1947, my father, K.R. Srivatsa, a citizen of Colonial India, born, 1920, served with the Eighth Army of the SCAP Occupational Services in Japan post WWII.  In his early history, he escaped concentration camps in occupied Singapore where he was enrolled for a postgraduate degree after it was bombed in ’41 and secreted passage to Japan.  He was also active in supporting the Indian Independence League (IIL) as a Radio broadcaster in Tokyo. He was in Tokyo and other regions in Japan during the bombings.  He served in Tokyo and Okinawa for the US Army until his capture by the British who wrongfully accused him of false propaganda and co-conspiracy and was shipped back to Calcutta to be incarcerated and sentenced to death.

This story was told to me by him. Due the clandestine nature and classified aspects of his life at that time, my father requested me to write his story only twenty years after his demise which was in 1988.  This was Many knew he was incarcerated, but the truth is only known to our closest family.  He carried the weight of that to his grave.  It took me over a decade to corroborate his travelog including numerous live interviews with people who knew him in various parts of Southeast Asia.  I also possess corroborating evidence such as, original letters, photos from the Eighth Army, IIL and other pertinent official documents of the period which will be included as exhibits.  It also includes his handwritten synopsis.  I’ve titled the book “Four Minutes after Midnight: A Moment in Eternity” referring to the time of his execution.

The book engages the reader spanning two centuries sharing my father’s ancestral heritage and early life.  It is targeted towards enthusiasts of WWII, History buffs, conspiracy buffs, people wanting to know the prevailing technology of the time and Indian Independence efforts with associated intrigues.  Further, in a small way, it introduces content, never-before published, and may alter the reader’s understanding of the current history of that region.  Finally, the book is a cultural travelog delving into the variety of religious and traditional practices that are part of the fabric in Southeast Asia, China and Japan today.  As a narrative of the protagonist, the publication provides the reader an opportunity to appreciate how these cultures existed and evolved during that time. Obviously, the story told by my father was more as a travelog.  As its “re-teller” I have expanded the social and emotional impacts on him and his various interactions, the prominent world events of the time, and some humor as well as intrigue to keep the reader engrossed.  Where appropriate I have also introduced plausible rationale to validate and legitimize his accounts. 

I have decided to publish his story now, especially as age is catching up with all of his survivors and I recently lost my older brother to COVID who did not even get a chance to read it.  As it happens, I've had the rare privilege to have read his lost travelog and preserve all the evidence safe till such a time that his amazing story can be published.