"THE SECOND HIGHEST WORLD WAR: THE RAMA THEATER": by Anoop Chandola. An untold dramatic story of WWII from the Himalayas. ISBN#0595222293 (iuniverse, $14.95, April, 2002.

An Indian American history writer unexpectedly finds memoirs of a Himalayan journalist, Chander, who died in an accident with his American wife. Chander wrote these action-filled stories when his father was fighting in WWII. He includes the 10-night Ramayana play, which was inspired by a girl. Avilable from Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com

Why is it that the face of World War II has appeared in print or film so often, but very seldom the back, the larger part? Could Hitler's rise and fall be seen in India? Can we see the historical roots of the past Aryan supremacists and current worldwide religious and ethnic terrorism in South Asia? The reader will find clear, though controversial, answers in this backside story of WWII from a remote, spectacular Himalayan region of India. Chander, a U.S.-educated journalist, writes his memoirs at the request of his American wife, Kristi. The memoirs reveal that Chander as a young boy lived with his mother in a Himalayan village, while his father was fighting in WWII. Chander recounts dramatic experiences of local WWII soldiers and civilians from 1941 to 1948. The experiences are juxtaposed with his hometown's Rama Lila, a popular play of the Ramayana epic. Jagriti, a girl from his village, introduces and, though forbidden, enacts parts of the play with him. Inspired by her, he watches the 10-night Rama Lila every year, while experiencing events, from humorous to terroristic, in his Hindu village, Christian school, and Hindu-Christian-Muslim town.