Nitin Sawant’s maiden book Lucifer’s Lungi is the tale of an individual who discovers for himself how one’s imagination can run riot amid fears and human frailties as well as clash of beliefs with unknown gods and demons. The author, a software programmer who has travelled far and wide across the world, gives a unique perspective to this tale that is set in a remote village of Tamil Nadu.
A thrilling encounter of a nomadic traveller, the book takes you on a non-stop journey of an atheist city-slicker who lands in a medieval holy village without knowing anything about this place.
In this beautiful village with hills, valleys, lakes and of course, ancient temples and sacrificial altars, there is a simpleton, the village priest’s boy who blindly worships and guards a pantheon of gods and their hoary traditions.
Unknown and strange things happen when the two meet but the author loves these strange encounters, after all it is only for a day and he would be back the next day in his office, telling his travel tales once again to his colleagues and friends.
Unlike his earlier travels, this time, the author meets people who are innocent and hospitable but shrouded in their beliefs, customs and traditions and isolated from the world.
The author has written about this strange journey with just a few main characters that are etched out so well that one can finish this book in one sitting.
Nitin Sawant further brings out the turmoil on a lonely night in a jungle, when the ghosts you never knew, are let loose on the ghosts that you always carried within, unknowingly. This is a clash of one’s beliefs that will test your convictions, unmask your subconscious, leaving you naked and paralysed in front of your demons, and a climax that is as ambiguous as it is certain.
Ghosts exist but not in the way one thinks as in this book, the author discovers that lurking and hidden fears in one’s mind can give rise to demons and devils on a dark, lonely night away from the comfort of your daily routine, if you allow it to happen.
Lucifer’s Lungi makes for a good weekend read.