The Terrible Price of Freedom 229October 1942, Alexander Werth arrived with the good news that ar-
rangements for his flight from Rome were ready. Bose rushed back to
Berlin to say his farewells. He then flew to Ribbentrop’s field headquar-
ters in Ukraine, and introduced Nambiar as the man he would leave in
charge of the Free India Center in Europe. The October flight had to be
abandoned, however, because of an intelligence leak by careless Ital ian
authorities, much to Bose’s dismay. To keep their angry guest occupied,
the German Foreign Office arranged a trip to Czechoslovakia for Bose
and Nambiar in late October 1942. Accompanied by Keppler and Trott,
the two Indians met Vojtech Tuka, the Slovakian prime minister, in
Bratislava, and were received by the president and other ministers. Bose
also intervened with the German authorities on behalf of his friend
Professor V. Lesny. He returned to Berlin by way of Vienna, where he
saw Emilie.^65 They continued to keep in touch by phone, though Bose
had to seek the intervention of the German Foreign Office to allow
them to speak to each other in En glish.^66
On November 6, 1942, Bose left for Rome to take the much- delayed
flight to Asia, but he was in for yet another bitter disappointment. The
Ital ians and the Japanese could not agree on the flight path. The first
flight had used Soviet air space, but the Japanese did not want that
route used again, as they were not at war with the Soviet Union. The
Ital ians objected that a more southerly route, recommended by the
Japanese, would be too risky. A thoroughly dejected Bose returned to
Berlin after cooling his heels in Rome for a week.^67
Perhaps the hand of destiny was at work in Bose’s failed attempts to
depart from Europe. Had his flight from Rome materialized, he would
have missed a joyous event in his personal life. On November 29, 1942,
Subhas and Emilie’s daughter, Anita, was born in Vienna. According
to Nambiar, when Subhas received the news, this great champion of
women’s rights was a bit disappointed that he had not been blessed
with a son. But the brief disappointment gave way to pride and joy
once Subhas saw Anita in December. Subhas, Emilie, and Anita spent a
quiet Christmas together in Vienna.^68
Domestic bliss could have no more than a fleeting presence in a
revolutionary’s life. Emilie herself was back at work, translating the
updated version of Subhas’s book The Indian Struggle into German.^69