Sacred Games

Travel Guide

It’s not just the feel of Bombay you get from this book but the smells, the sounds and everything else in between.

The atmosphere is further enhanced by the smattering of Bombay slang throughout the book which even though is not translated, you get a feel for it immediately and a real feel for it later on in the book. So effective, its like being in the county itself and letting the language seep into your bones.

“…exuberant foliage and parrots fluttered through the tree tops. Now the bright Mumbai sun slipped through the white blinds and ignited the hues…”

Sartaj Singh is Sikh and one of the few who comes to work in the Bombay police force which provides a view on the cultural and religious differences in the county. He sticks out somewhat and it’s an interesting way of looking both at the police force, the work they do and the divisions within.

There are many layers to this story in the same way that there are many layers to Bombay itself and if you thought it a city of spices and aromas and stunning colours, you would not be wrong.

The characters are rich too  -those that pop in and out of the story and those like Singh who is present throughout. Seeing his Bombay and the city’s streets via the eyes of a police officer in this way mixes a criminally minded eye with the colourful chaos of a city in motion. Bombay also has problems with the administrative side and to get a glimpse of this helps to understand much of the confusion and challenges the police and people face.

A lot going on and this is merely a snapshot.