Holy smoke,It's a GODMAN by Satish Georgy Kashyap
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What is life all about? Is it about trying to make the best of what you have in your possession or is it about crossing the threshold of comfort, taking a plunge into the unknown and discovering the purpose which gives life a sense and makes it worth living? And who does have the answer? The question here being subjective and not philosophical, stands the chance of it being examined against personal experiences and so might have different answers.

The protagonist of this work, Jogender Dutt alias Redney Yog, is a common and poor lower middle class Indian who dreams big, whose desire for the things unattainable as a commoner leads him to eventually discover himself as an individual and who realizes that there is more to life than is apparent at the surface.

The book starts with a letter to the then President of U.S, George W Bush. Of course, the author has taken a bold move starting his work in this manner, for whatever is being told henceforth must also include a justification of his purpose. And does he achieve that? It rests upon the reader to analyse that. Though he does give a reason towards the end but what is told sub sequentially in the work from the beginning, not only entails a life of an individual but also a description of certain elements of Indian society including cultural and social practices widespread in the country which exercise a tremendous influence upon the lives of its citizens. The writer, foremost being a playwright, doesn't tell us but shows us through his words, the intricate elements of the social and familial structure, shaping and leading Redney’s actions.

The book starts with Redney Yog as narrator who tells us about how he came to be known as Redney from Jogender, how he murdered Chacha Imam, an extremist clergyman in Copenhagen, and how he escaped to India from Denmark after that.

From there onward, in every chapter, we come across some incidents which portray either long held ideas, beliefs or practices, we Indians are very well aware of. For example, in the chapter ‘Jugad’, we are reminded of the habit of ‘quick fixing’ things with minimum of resources. In ‘Unlucky start’, we come across a father who consider himself a failure in life owing to not having studied English as a language, so that he pins all his hopes upon his son ‘Jogender’ and sends him to a good English school for education. In ‘Stranger’ we meet three different characters, who while making an appearance in the life of ‘Jogender’ influence the course of his destiny in different ways. One of the characters, ‘Father Goodwin’ brings to mind the ugly face of child abuse at the hands of clergy.

Chapter ‘Haridwar and Mastana’ bring our attention to the mystic world of Akhadas, Pandas and Nagas, while in the next chapter we get a glimpse of an Aghori practicing Tantra.

At some place, we witness a satire on the working of Police and at another, the horrible reality of ‘Sant Ashramas’ widespread like Cancer in the Country. The story is about Jogender’s exploitation at the hand of a so called ‘Swami’, a head of an ashram and a strong figure. How Jogender escapes from his hands and then comes back to avenge the unjust, forms the crux of this work. But what actually happens at the end? I leave it to readers to find it out by themselves.

The narrative language is quite simple and easy to understand, the purpose being to reach a wider readership and convey the idea behind the work.

Recommended if you wish to understand how fear has a role to play in the lives of common people of the Country, who are victims of system run by fraudulent Saints.


Note about the author:

Satish Kashyap is a multi talented individual; an actor, director and a playwright. He has proved his potential over the years and has mesmerized people by his acting abilities. Bestowed with tremendous energy, sharp wit and insight, he is a visionary who has single handily executed ambitious projects and earned a well deserved name. It is indeed a privilege to know him as a friend too.

Holy Smoke, It's a GODMAN is his first foray into writing fiction.




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