Toke by Jugal Mody

Imagine an unsure, confused office going guy who has fallen in love with his colleague; she like most of the Indian stories, initially has no idea who he is. Now suddenly, introduce a plethora of gods, a couple of Japanese kung-fu masters, ganja, hash and scenes from Go, Goa.. Gone.

My take on Toke is that it is a refreshing read and is meant for the newer generation.
Why?
Well, there is mention of a multiple number of Gods and vahanas from the Hindu Mythology who are shown to be ganjedis and charsis.  I can't speak for the others but while my parents can still digest the fact that Lord Shiva might smoke up, the idea that one has to smoke up to actually see God would drive them nuts.

"We'll end up demolishing the universe in one go just 'cause one planet got infested by demons.
Like a Windows machine, formatting becomes necessary."

The story is fast-paced throughout, though the book's story line can be described as weird to say the least. While weird generally brings in ominous feelings, there is not a moment in this book when you would feel like laying it to rest. Also, as the weirdness increases, the book literally drives your imagination to overcome boundaries. You imagine the vast pot fields near Bhuntar, the two busty Japanese twins described more like porn stars than kung-fu fighters and their use of tiddle-taddle English , the thrill of fighting and roundhouse-kicking zombies and mad-bosses and finally the aura of drinking with Lord Shiva himself.

While these emotions lie as a topping to the glossy book cover, the implicit relation between Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, the love between the narrator and his half-zombie girlfriend is what Mr. Mody could have concentrated on a bit more. Though he has used simplified computer jargon to make it more appealing to the gen-X and gen-Y, the lack of proper emotions at critical situations make the book quite clinical.

With smoking up and swear-words galore, this is the very book your parents have warned you about. The satirical comedy take with a bit of thriller, action and rom-com sequences make it an entertaining book for today's youth. It should be "The Toke Of The Town".  

Bytes and Banter Verdict: Blah!  -  2/5

This book has been provided by Indiblogger and Harper Collins under the Book Review Program.