By: Ritwika Gupta

?Each moment, every single moment, we either create a dream or a nightmare, as each moment we either choose to live or we choose to kill the opportunity to live.?-  Ruzbeh N. Bharucha

Ruzbeh N. Bharucha?s new book Rabda is not just a plain biography of Sai Baba but it also brings alive real stories and philosophy of life. Bharucha, who himself is a non-conformist, believes that spirituality is as freewheeling as breathing.

As one of the most influential spiritual writers in the country, Bharucha started his career as a journalist and documentary filmmaker. Till date, he has written eleven books including the bestselling, The Fakir Trilogy. Settled in Pune with his family, Bharucha also has a popular blog on The Speaking Tree. In a candid chat with Indiantelevision.com?s RITWIKA GUPTA, the acclaimed author talks about his new book Rabda and shares his beliefs on spirituality and inspiration.

Your journey as an author?

The journey of writing books started when I was in Jai Hind College, Mumbai but it took me ten years to get the first book published. The publishing house had asked me to write a non-fiction book on spirits like whisky, vodka, wine. For some reason I thought they wanted me to write on life after death and spirit communication. It was only when the conversation maneuvered towards the subject of hangovers, I realised that I was harping about the wrong kind of spirits. But the publisher seemed to like my spooky idea better and that is how I got into writing about the spiritual world.

Your inspiration?

The process of writing makes life worth living and this inspires me to keep writing. Sai Baba of Shirdi also inspires me to write. Both my books - The Fakir Trilogy and Rabda - are set in a world where Sai Baba communicates and makes his presence felt. The conversation between the main character and Sai Baba is real. There is humor, swearing, laughter and profound words of wisdom as well.

Your favourite books?

I love reading fiction, crime thrillers and detective books.  I also love humour. I have read The Autobiography of a Yogi by Swami Paramhansa Yogananda innumerable times. My favourite books include Aghoras: At The Left Hand of God by Robert Svoboda, Timothy Files by Lawrence Sanders and Illusions, The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Robert Bach. I also like to read books written by P.G.Wodehouse, Somerset Maugham, James Hardly Chase, Colin Dexter, Grisham, Khushwant Singh, Stieg Larsson, Lawrence Sanders, Harold Robbins and Rex Stout. 

Your thoughts on Rabda?

The crux of the book is to spread the message of oneness.  I wanted to write a book on Sai Baba of Shirdi. I wanted to focus on Baba's philosophy and ideology and project him as someone who is beyond religion, sects and miracles. But I wanted to write it in a conversational manner. The book goes back and forth, past and present, uses present day language along with Sai Baba's colourful vocabulary and the reader is taken on a journey of a lifetime.

Story & characters of Rabda?

The main character in the book, Rabda or Caiz, is a famous musician who attempts to commit suicide. His attempt however fails and he instead goes into a state of coma. Chances are that he is going to die but this is when Sai Baba enters the hospital and awakens the spirit body of Rabda. The two then begin to converse about life, death and everything in between and that is what the book is all about.

The Cover Page?

The cover page features Rabda the musician reaching out to Sai Baba.

 Next in the Pipeline?

My new book Ananda: Musings of The Fakir has been published by Full Circle. In the month of April, The Perfect Ones, a set of biographies on various masters, prophets, avatars, goddesses, archangels, will be published and released by Penguin.