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In this age of high technology and commercialisation of values, if one writes a book on the teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba, it is bound to meet with apathy. But with Ruzben N. Bharucha’s “The Fakir”, published by Full Circle, the scene is completely different. The book, the publisher claims, has got tremendous response from even technology-satiated readers.

Running into 250 pages, it is the journey of a man who hears the voice of Sai Baba guiding him, though he is always reluctant to pay heed to it. Ruzbeh manages to weave humour into several long monologues in the book that makes the text interesting to read.

“‘The Fakir’ is trying to say that the guru is within you. It doesn’t say great things but the same things that our pious souls have said earlier, like lead a simple and decent life, try to make the world a better place to live in and so on. The contents of the book came to me through Sai Baba, my guru. He just guided my pen. I didn’t plan to write the way I did,” admits Ruzbeh.

For sure, many readers take such claims with a pinch of salt but that doesn’t concern Ruzbeh. He asserts, “India is a land of sages and at any point of time any sage can influence you with his teachings. I am greatly impressed with Sai Baba.” If some people don’t share his beliefs, he says, it doesn’t bother him at all.

The story emerged while Ruzbeh was researching on concepts like the paranormal, meditation and healing to write his first novel, “The Last Marathon”.

A former journalist who has worked in various streams from holistic healing to travel to investments and shares, Ruzbeh made a name with his earlier books including “Shadows and Cages” on mothers and children in different jails of India, “Devi’s Emerald” on spiritual devices and healing, “Rest in Pieces”, a fictional work, and more recently, “Yamuna Gently Weeps” on the uprooted slum dwellers of Yamuna Pushta in Delhi.

He also made a 72-minute documentary on it that was screened at the Berlin Film Festival, as also a 20-minute documentary, Shadows and Cages. Ruzbeh is now fighting for the cause of juvenile delinquents through his forthcoming book “My God is a Juvenile Delinquent”.

“It is based on my observation and chat with the children living in observation homes,” says Ruzbeh who presented himself as a social worker to be allowed to sit next to the judge during hearings of juvenile offenders.

“I am also attached to a social group, so it was easy,” he says, adding that the book would be a revelation for many parents, social organisations and journalists.

RANA SIDDIQUI

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