Datta Puranik

A 84 year old going door to door, spreading the message of Sane Guruji through his classic novel ‘Shyamchi Aai’. Surprising? This is just the beginning… Add to this the fact that over the last decade, he has visited over 20,000 households, sold over 25,000 copies of the novel. And all this with a devotion, enthusiasm and energy that belies his aging frame.

Spreading the message of Sane Guruji comes naturally to Datta Puranik, fondly called Puranik Baba. Having been nurtured in his childhood by Sane Guruji, Puranik Baba wants every child to gain the knowledge that he gained, every Marathi household to have a copy of ‘Shyamchi Aai’. He believes that every child should be exposed to the world of ‘Shyamchi Aai’ where the right way of life, values, truth and love for one’s family prevails over all obstacles in life.

Shyamchi Aai’s lessons and values are even more important and relevant in today’s world where television and the internet exposes impressionable minds to a tantalizing world of materialism and fluctuating values, where reports of school going children turning to drugs and murdering family members for money adorns front pages of newspapers and is breaking news on television.

How did this journey from house to house begin? Taking inspiration from his childhood tryst with Sane Guruji, the lessons and stories after school, the values imparted through discussions, Puranik wished to impart some of the same magic to help today’s children cope with the pressures of modern life. Starting from his own children during his working life, he made it his mission after retiring and fulfilling all his other responsibilities to his family to spread the word of Sane Guruji. And what better way than through ‘Shyamchi Aai’ the much loved evergreen classic, the story of Sane Guruji’s childhood, the story of Sane Guruji’s own experiences.

It has been a wonderful journey for Puranik Baba all these years. Come rain or shine, Puranik Baba has continued his journey to carry Sane Guruji’s message to today’s children. In this journey, the good experiences have overwhelmed the few bad experiences. Welcomed with respect into many families who see the spirit of Sane Guruji in Puranik Baba, the testament to this journey of faith is Puranik Baba’s resolve to forego dinner on the day he is unable to sell a single book. This occasion has so far come only thrice!

Puranik Baba has also kept up with modern times. With the advent of VCDs and DVDsof the film from Rudraa Home Video, he has also started selling the VCDs in addition to the books. With similar success!

As Sane Guruji said ‘To entertain children is to worship God’. And Puranik Baba is showing children today the right path through right entertainment!