'Holy Smoke its a Godman' is a worth reading novel as the story it tells is grasping and close to reality. I thought that the writer himself must has witnessed the incidence he covered in the story in order to elaborate them. He must have been close to the scenes he described in the story. The novel is fast and the scenes/locale described in the novel changes rapidly. The writer has a lot to tell so he tried to pen down his experiences/thoughts in shortest possible way. The end is more dramatic. The part where the corrupt Sadhus and their ill practice are described are very interesting. One such example we have came across in realty. The words and incidence are true to life. Such accidents may be more harsh and real than what described by the writer. It is must for our Indian people to read to know what can/may happen in life. The politics involved is also very well described. Foreign locale are also well described.

Holy Smoke It’s a Godman by Satish Georgy KashyapNot only India has enough religion/caste divisions to fight over, the self-stylized Godman of India are further distorting the picture by setting up their shops in every nook and corner of India. People fall in their traps either by misfortune, force, or because of their stupidity. The close-knit nexus of Godmans with the politicians, police and other power hungry people further fuels their ego and they started to believe in their god-hood. They modulate people’s opinion (at times creating situations like mild form of civil wars), treat their illness (mental and others, you can imagine), plunder wealth (in form of various fees/gifts), and end up in some court case or another (sex or drugs trafficking, rape, murder, or simply creating nuisance), ultimately distorting the definition of trust, faith, religion, and communal harmony.Here (Dr., though he hasn’t mentioned it here) Kashyap through his protagonist Redney Yog, a runaway, looks at these problems and drug trade from India/Pakistan to Denmark and other European countries while dabbling in various characters from slums of Bombay to hippie town of Denmark. Written in first person narrative, this is a light read even though its contents are dark. There is so much humor in this book. The way details of places of India and Denmark are depicted in the book, it reads like a travelogue at times. So, if you are going to Denmark (and if people from Denmark are coming to India) this is a must have book for you apart from its fictional narrative.The book is basically an underdog story which starts off with Redney Yog writing a letter to President Bush. The book reminisces of darkly realistic The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (where protagonist Balram Halwai writes a letter to Chinese President) and The Slumdog Millionaire movie but lacks the urgency of both. At places, this book is overwritten which is a common problem with most first person narratives. Even though problems discussed in the book like murder, drugs, sex, police brutality are serious/heinous crimes, reading this book make all these problems not-so-serious, if not petty. The book is gut-wrenching at places where characters are brutalized by police or sex-slaved by godman but such scenes aren’t many or not depicted to evoke emotions, as if the author chooses not to delve in darkness/too much realism. The climax of the book leaves much to be desired.Overall, this is a beautiful case study on self-stylized Godman of India and what is going underneath their so-called religious prayers, teachings, yogas, and their special classes. Or is the author mocking at naivety of we Indian who believes and trusts in these Godmans? A breezy, fun read!