The Armenian Champa Tree

 The Armenian Champa Tree 

Author : MahaswetaDevi 

Country : India

Genre : Short Story, Fantasy 

Date of Publication: 01 Dec 2000

There are many types of authors. Some teach us the basic truths of life with great eloquence. Some others, teach the greatest of philosophies in the simplest of languages. 

There are authors like MahaswetaDevi, who have the knack of telling simple things in simple language and yet making it interesting enough. ‘The Armenian Champa Tree’ is a sample for that talent of MahaswetaDevi, who is famous more for his manner of telling a tale.

One popular book among school students is Why Why Girl. 

In this book she makes the reader more inquisitive and ask more questions.

Mato is a young Buno tribal boy of ten who is the worry of his mother, because he spends all his time daydreaming instead of doing the useful things Buno boys are meant to do; and because he is completely devoted to his pet baby goat, Arjun. When a tantric saint demands that the goat be sacrificed to the goddess Kali, Mato runs away with Arjun in a desperate bid and  reaches the sanctuary of the Armenian church. Hunted by the entire village, the boy and his goat struggle to escape and to stay safely. 

In the process, Mahasweta Devi exposes the manner in which innocent people are  exploited in the name of  superstition. 

This is a tender and charming tale primarily for young readers, for whom, over the years, Mahasweta Devi has written extensively, 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 of.