LAXMI PANDA BY SAVIE KARNEL

   

Laxmi Panda: Netaji’s Youngest Spy Finally Gets Her Due

Savie Karnel’s new book revives the forgotten heroine of the INA for today’s readers

The Indian National Army (INA) is a name etched into India’s freedom struggle. Yet, one of its youngest and most remarkable members, Laxmi Panda, remains little known outside Odisha. With her new book, author Savie Karnel brings Panda’s extraordinary life to children and young readers, ensuring her story of courage and sacrifice is not forgotten.

At just sixteen, Laxmi Panda joined the INA’s espionage wing. Using her wits and courage, she carried out intelligence work against the British. But after India won independence, her life slipped into poverty and obscurity. She lived unrecognised as a freedom fighter for much of her life — a fact that makes her story both inspiring and heartbreaking.

“Jai Hind!”

 Laxmi Panda’s spirited greeting at every meeting echoes her lifelong patriotism.

 The book spans 232 pages, tracing Panda’s journey from childhood to her final days. Karnel uses simple language and a storytelling style that makes it particularly accessible to children. In doing so, she brings history to life and makes it relatable.

As Lord Rama told Lakshmana, “Janani Janmabhoomischa Swargadapi Gariyasi” — one’s mother and homeland are greater than heaven itself. For her homeland, Panda made sacrifices beyond imagination. Although she was not recognized in her lifetime, she upheld the timeless principle: do not ask what your country has done for you; ask what you have done for your country.

 

I quote: “There is no bravery in getting caught and going to jail.
A smart soldier never gets caught by the enemy.”
— Laxmi Panda

One of the most striking parts of the book is Panda’s own account of her methods as a young spy. In her words:

“We would catch frogs and enter British camps to sell frog meat to the officers. … She was never caught.”

It is this blend of ingenuity and daring that makes her story so compelling for young readers. What looked like a simple errand was, in reality, a covert mission under the enemy’s nose.

More than a biography, the book is a reminder of how freedom was won — through small, often unacknowledged acts of bravery. It also raises an uncomfortable truth: how easily the nation forgets its heroes once their work is done.

As India steps into its 79th year of independence, stories like Panda’s need to be told more widely. They instill patriotism, gratitude, and a sense of responsibility in the next generation.

Savie Karnel has succeeded not only in documenting the life of an unsung heroine but also in lighting a path for readers. Laxmi Panda: The Story of Netaji’s Youngest Spy is more than a children’s book; it is an act of remembrance — and a call to never let such sacrifices fade into silence.

 

 

THE TIGER'S SHARE

  

The ancient spiritual dictum “Asti me asti sylagre vastu pyathamaham dhanam” underscores the enduring significance of wealth and inheritance across generations. In The Tiger’s Share by Kesava Guha, this theme is reimagined through the prism of patriarchal succession, contested property, and the familial tensions that erupt in the aftermath of a patriarch’s death.

The novel situates itself within the framework of legacy, where identity, status, and dignity are deeply bound to the family name and inherited assets. However, once the head of the family departs, these bonds give way to disputes over wills, unspoken desires, and latent rivalries among heirs. Guha’s narrative captures the irony that while the deceased no longer participates in worldly affairs, their past decisions and preferences continue to exert influence over the living.

The title, The Tiger’s Share, is both evocative and thematically precise. The tiger, emblematic of power, dominance, and possession, reflects the magnitude of the inheritance struggles portrayed in the novel. Just as the tiger commands the forest, the notion of inheritance looms large, overshadowing personal relationships and shaping individual destinies.

Placed in a comparative framework, Guha’s exploration of inheritance and family disputes resonates with long-standing literary traditions. Within Indian literature, parallels may be drawn to R.K. Narayan’s The Financial Expert or Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy, both of which illuminate how familial obligations and material possessions intertwine with individual aspirations. On a global scale, echoes of Guha’s narrative can be found in classics such as Thomas Mann’s Buddenbrooks, which portrays the decline of a bourgeois family dynasty, or Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, where inheritance laws shape women’s futures and familial bonds.

By aligning with these traditions, The Tiger’s Share underscores how property and legacy serve not merely as material concerns but as cultural and moral battlegrounds. Guha’s contribution lies in localizing this universal theme within the complexities of Indian familial structures, thereby offering both a mirror to contemporary society and a continuation of an enduring literary discourse on wealth, power, and human relationships.

 

( Details here about THE BLOGCHATTER BOOKLIST 2025)