Title: Peace With Buddha
Authors: Chitwan Mittal & Sarita Saraf
Illustrator: Debasmita Dasgupta
Publisher: AdiDev Press Pvt.Ltd.
Type: Board Book
Age group: 4 – 8 years
In the past month, Nirvana’s questionnaire has increased multiple folds and she has been asking queries that could result from her age-appropriate emotional growth related meltdown or from curiosity, something like – ‘when it’s so hot, we stay at home in the afternoon, why are the other children (from neighbouring not-so privileged areas) outside?
OR
‘I like puzzles Amma, I want more, why are you not buying me more’ and while I help her queries answered to an extent, I have had many more occasions where I had no answers as such appropriate to her age, on certain questions.
Fast forward a month and I finally got to read this book about someone I have utmost admiration for, Buddha. I am deeply humbled and grateful to the authors – Chitwan Mittal and Sarita Saraf, Adidevpress for sending me a copy of this book via KBC, with their personal note which I will treasure forever. Thank You kbc for this incredible opportunity to be able to review this book.
Some questions might be better left unanswered. What fits for me might not fit for my child, and therefore it is not fair in my belief, to pour my interpretations and observations on them, for when a query pops up. That’s exactly what ‘Peace With Buddha’ is about.
It’s lovely how The Buddha and his inquisitiveness, his path in getting his questions answered by himself, could be introduced to the tiny tots in a way they could co-relate.
So while the book introduces Siddhartha as the Royal who was so unlike others and had questioned ‘suffering’ in all possible ways, it slowly navigates through his curiosity in finding answers to this very vital question in ‘desire’.
It’s the authors’ marvel here, in taking the leap from The Buddha’s story to the words that correspond to materialistic dissatisfaction we often hear from children (or many a times we fall into this very inviting trap, don’t we?).
What is also beautiful about this book are the open ended questions it offers, for once just the questions, without any answers!! These are key in talking about emotional growth, self-discipline and in being mindful about our asks based on what we ‘need’ and what we ‘want’.
Having read this book with Nirvana helped us have a conversation about how she feels when she comes across something like a puzzle in making, being destroyed by accident, or when she has to wait (and asks non-stop ‘can I talk now please’) while I am having my endless conversations with my brother, or a friend.
‘Peace Wth Buddha’ helped me reflect on my priorities, and to reconnect with my deepest self of how I could encourage and help N&N with virtues like finding that peace, feeling privileged and humbled, find ways they could discover self-discipline and being mindful.
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