Forever Forty  (Kannada, Paperback, Subhashini Vasanth,Veena Prasad,Samudyata Venkataramu)

Forever Forty is a celebration of the life of Col Vasanth. A life well lived – from growing up in a loving household and making wonderful friends, to marrying the woman he loved, raising beautiful children, and staying true to his calling till the very end. It is also a celebration of love. Love, expressed eloquently in more than four hundred letters he wrote home while posted on cold, rugged, inhospitable mountains, spending almost every New Year, birthday and anniversary away from family, while keeping intact his characteristic sense of humour, and writing so evocatively as to bring everything alive. These letters are juxtaposed with the stories related by his close friends and family, giving one a glimpse into his amazing personality that is nothing short of inspiring. On 31 July 2007, Vasanth was hit by a bullet while preventing heavily armed militants from crossing over to the Indian side of Kashmir from Pakistan. Though wounded, he continued fighting till the very end. For this supreme sacrifice, he was awarded the Ashoka Chakra – the highest peacetime gallantry award in India.