Book excerpt: This book records a brief description of my early life in a lower middle-class family of rural Karnataka, followed by an account of my short-lived career in the British Indian Army during World War II and, lastly, the story of the Indian National Army in which I was privileged to serve as a minor functionary from its very inception until the tragic day when it passed off into history. The narrative also details my bitter experiences as a prisoner-of-war in Japanese hands, my daring escape from captivity, my subsequent trials, and tribulations as a fugitive in Singapore and Malaya and, later on, the humble role which I played in the battle for freedom on the Indo-Burmese frontier. And towards the end, I have recounted the hard times which I had to face in the wake of the collapse of our armed struggle against the British forces.