The Armenian Champa Tree

"Mato is a 10 year old Buno tribal boy who is the despair of his mother because he spends all his time daydreaming instead of doing the useful things Buno boys are meant to do. He is completely devoted to his pet baby goat Arjun. When a Kapalik demands that Arjun be sacrificed to the Goddess Kali, Mato runs away with him in a desperate bid to reach the sanctuary of the Armenian Church. Hunted by the entire village, the boy and his goat struggle to evade capture and reach safety. In the process, Mahasweta Devi exposes the manner in which religion exploits superstition for its own ends. In this tender and charming tale primarily for young readers, Mahasweta Devi reveals a fresh new face to those who know her only from the hard-hitting fiction on which her reputation is grounded. Over the years, she has written extensively for young readers, using her considerable experience of oral history and grassroot realities to weave stories which educate future adults about an India very few of them would otherwise know." (jacket)