The Radiant Pure Soul of Ganeshpuri Sri Bhagawan Nityananda Baba

Randall Fontes, Kersee Bulsara and Bob Swanson emerged into an ancient land. They went through customs and with much difficulty hired a car to take them to the small town of Ganeshpuri about 60 miles North of Bombay.

Randall and Bob traveled to India on behalf of Sonoma State Universities "Field Experience in India" program. They were preparing a multimedia documentary journal, slide and audio production for public presentation highlighting the culture, philosophy and the spirituality of India. 

Ganeshpuri is a town in Bhandara district of the western state of India, Maharashtra. 

2001 census report
Population: 8183 inhabitants
Males 52% of the population
Females 48% of the population
10% of the population is less than six years of age
Average literacy rate: 83%, national average literacy rate: 59.5%.
Male literacy rate: 88%, Female literacy rate: 78%.
 
 

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Ganeshpuri Weather Summer Average Temperature: 33°C -  91°F March to May maximum Temperature 40°C - 104°F Dec. to Feb. average minimum of 17°C - 63°F with an observed minimum of 9°C - 48°F June to Sept. Average to heavy rainfalls during the monsoons

Madu's Hut
Randall and Bob were offered chai (tea) by Madu. He beckoned for his wife and asked her to prepare chai for their guests. She stoked the small cooking fire with a fresh chip of dried buffalo dung and boiled water for the chai.  As they sat sipping the chai Madu's wife resumed doing her chores.

She picked up a tall basket and walked out into the nearby pasture where buffalo roam and were grazing. She set her basket down and kneeled on the ground and put her hands together, bent over and scooped up a load of the  buffalo dung and plopped it into the basket. She did this until the basket was about 3/4 filled with the valuable excrement. 

Then she carried the basket on her head and sat it down near the hut. She plucked straw from a patch of nearby dried grass and placed it in the basket. She then pushed her hands into the dung and began to churn the mixture until the dung and grass was thoroughly blended. 

With her hands and forearms she began to meticulously spread the dung on the side of the hut, filling in the open gaps in the structure. The hut was quite simple with branches and sticks making up their homes frame and thatched grass used for a roof. Not only were walls made from dung, the floor was also made of concrete like dried dung. 

The woman in the villages work very hard.