Title: Toke

By: Jugal Mody

Jugal Mody believes in fiction. Before handling web and social media for Filmfare and Tehelka, he worked in gaming. As a rule, he only writes to feel like a dog sticking its head out the window of a moving car. This is his first book.

ISBN:     978-9350293409

Cover Price:       Rs. 160.00

Rating:  3.5/5

So Lord Vishnu showed up one morning when I was really stoned and asked me to save the world from turning undead. How did I save the world? I didnt. We did. And while saving the world, I got to forcefully kiss the girl of my dreams. Many times. My best friends got to smoke a lot of good shit. A lot more than they would have otherwise smoked in that much time. They also got to crash an airplane into a slum outside Santacruz airport. But dont worry, there were only zombies around when that happened. We were joined in our quest by two Japanese girls who can kill people with their pinkies, one of whom forcefully kissed Danny. Yes, there was a lot of non-consensual kissing in this adventure. With tongue.

Hi. Im Nikhil. This is my story. And I swear I have a T-shirt to prove it.

Satire amalgamated with fantasy and religion; yes that’s Toke by Jugal Modyfor you. The first adjective that comes to my mind about Toke is unconventional! And if you ask me if its Unconventional- good or bad? Well good I’d say.

The book is about Nikhil, an average human being and an even below average employee whose life is screwed by the ‘perfect employee’ as his cubicle neighbour and an annoying manager who simply loves breathing down his employee’s neck! One find day when everything seems to steer from bad to worse, Nikhil finds solace in his ganja loving friends’ company. He gets stoned, meets Lord Vishnu and is driven to Save the World! What happens next is what the book is all about! Read it to find out more!

Toke is certainly a refreshing read, not at all mundane and a page turner for sure. Beware though this book cannot be enjoyed with an uptight notion about language and punctuation. It is written with the nonchalance of this generation. It might be difficult to adjust to the style in which the book is written in terms of the language itself. It is in English no doubt the lingo is the garden variety sitcom influenced Englishspoken by the modern Indian youth. If you are flexible enough for that you’d surely enjoy the experience. Honestly, I do not like half baked English and most importantly the hinglish that is being used so generously these days in Indian English Novels. But just this once in Toke the deviation seems acceptable and I actually ended up taking pleasure in it.

It is not a book that would draw you into serious moralities. However having said that it is also true that the book would make you ponder on what you really feel about religion or its philosophy in essence, unwittingly. And believe me you’d end up doing it without that extra line of wrinkle on your forehead! It is one that ensures a breezy read without an overdose of sermons and emotions. An unconventional story to say the least without any messy edits; Toke is certainly a winner for a first time author.

So if you are willing to give Mody a chance to guide your imagination through this ride, you’d certainly enjoy devouring his book too.