Green Boy and Stories of Other Creators
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There is a reference in India’s ancient scriptures that trees are former sages. When Paurav read this he felt that there was a deep meaning in this. One day, Paurav was sitting on a cot under a pipal tree, watching its leaves chattering and laughing in the wind. He felt its exuberance. His mind started roaming: The tree is vast – its head is up in the sky and its roots seek stability by spreading underground, even if this requires piercing rocks. Maybe the tree, because of its height, catches some special waves in the atmosphere that humans can’t? Trees were meditating on their earthly asanas many ages before man’s advent on the earth. The tree cannot walk; nor can it use its branches as limbs for its defense; nor can it squash anyone under its elephantine bulk. The tree practices the supreme form of non-violence. Could it be that the tree is spiritually far more advanced than man? Besides, it is self-sufficient in food. It draws whatever food and water it needs from the bowels of the earth, and from sunlight. If humans could learn from trees how to harness solar energy for their nourishment, then hunger could be banished from the world. Stepping back in time, Paurav is now a child. He remembers the tales his mother had told him of Krishna’s sports. As a punishment, Yashoda, the mother, ties mischievous little Krishna to a mortar. Dragging the mortar, Krishna emerges from between two adjacent trees. The trees are uprooted, and two divine beings, both gatekeepers of Lord Vishnu, emerge from them. Little Paurav is borne along by the current of the story. He stares at the trees and rubs himself against one of them, so that any divine being hidden in it would manifest itself! Weaving a garland of thoughts, his eyes begin to perceive the fantastic, as if a tree has touched his eyelids with its magic finger. Sitting down in a meditative posture under a peepal tree, with his hands in a gesture of supplication, Paurav prays to the tree to make him one. “You want to be a tree? Why?” The peepal asks, swaying overhead in the breeze. “I want to become tall and touch the sky with my head.” “If someone wants to cut off your feet, you will not be able to stop him.” “If I can have your endurance, I don’t mind my feet being cut.” “This wondrous power is of green blood. But in you flows the red blood of rage!” “That blood I will spill on the ground. Will you then pour your sap into me?” Paurav watches red blood drip to the ground from his big toe. The green of the peepal tree begins to enter into his body, and rises to his eyes. His entire body is suffused with verdant waves. Paurav awakens from his reverie; but there is a green shimmer in his eyes. Paurav is human; but now also tree!
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About the Book
The book is about eight fired-up young Indian men and women. Their vision of excellence, coupled with their creativity, persistence, and indomitable spirit, helps them emerge as unique individuals. They overcome obstacles in their path, including their own mental blocks. They come from diverse backgrounds, representative of the diversity of contemporary India. One of them is a domestic servant, another is from a lower middle-class family, the third belongs to the family of an academician, the fourth comes from an extremely orthodox Brahmin family, the fifth is of mixed Indian-Canadian descent, and so forth. Their personalities are as diverse as their backgrounds. But what they share in common is grit, the spirit of innovation, a humane concern for others, and the desire to extend the limits of their being. Their achievements are also diverse. One becomes the discoverer of consciousness in plants; another transforms a society a thousand years hence; the third sets up a school to foster creativity in children; the fourth becomes an outstanding painter; the fifth, a highly innovative farmer; the sixth, a pioneer of organ transplants; the seventh, a pioneer of colours distilled from rocks; and the eighth triumphs over her ingrained fear of ghosts to become a counselor who heals wounded beings. These scintillating stories are written in a simple style but with arresting images. They are spiced with action and racy dialogues that make them highly engrossing.