The Peanut Boy
Bharatpur was a cosmically insignificant beacon of divine importance, a material manifestation of love's attempt at immortality, a runaway footnote from time's rigorous ledger and a random geographical location where destiny had conspired with existence to give a peanut boy named Bali a home.
She paused, silently scrutinising an invisible horizon situated to the east of the future, where Truth governs, Consciousness reigns and Bliss upholds it all. Well, at least that is what Bali believed she saw when he followed her gaze.
As the day went about its age-old attempt to catch up with the morrow, all the while leaving its yesterday further behind, the hustle of East Bharatpur went about its modus operandi, a routine that consisted primarily of trying to outperform the bustle of West Bharatpur. Meanwhile, Bali was neither trying to catch up with anything or outperform anyone, he simply went about roasting his peanuts to perfection, as the universe continued its expansion with nonchalance.
If, for a moment, we imagine humanity as one vast family and evolution as an epic train journey, then it appears we have forgotten too many of our children at the station. Abandoned by hope, forgotten by love, rejected by possibilities, they have no choice but to become drifters in man's endeavouring journey of progress.
So for the sake of whatever is dear to us, let us stop feeding the youth with indifference, Wi-Fi and fear. Let us replace what we have given them so far with love, support and trust, giving the next generation a chance to save a little more than just the day. Only then will we be spared the harsh obligation to vacate the planet and migrate to the suburbs of our galaxy. Otherwise, as refugees of our own stupidity, we may be forced to live in a metal tube on an oxygen-starved lifeless rock, where we will rebuild a world from scratch, only to fail once again before we understand that the instigator of our recurring demise is a stowaway called Human Nature.
The Peanut Boy is easily the most delightful and insightful book on India I've ever come across. Every page brims with amazing humour, keen and candid observation, as well as intimate knowledge and deep love for this incredible country that is home to us all. At the same time, it is an exposure to the Integral Yoga in story form. As we accompany the Peanut Boy through his daily adventures, he receives the teachings of the Divine Mother's twelve essential qualities by his mysterious adopted 'Ma', one by one as they emerge out of life itself. The book is a poem, a love song of the soul, revealing the living presence of the Divine in the minutest details of an existence on the dusty roads of an 'average' Indian town, in fact in every single thing we can see, hear, and feel...
The Peanut Boy
A tale of hope in an age of falsehood, a glimpse of light in an era of ignorance, a quest for truth in a world of cruelty and a tickling sense of humour for company along the way. A book that will, if nothing else, ring the bell to the door of your heart.
