Behind the scenes of Deepa Bhasthi's new book

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

Deepa Bhasthi — who won the International Booker Prize this year along with Banu Mushtaq whose short stories she translated from Kannada into English — has a new book out. Titled Champi and the Fig Tree, it is a picture book for children that celebrates what human beings share with various other species through the story of a girl named Champi who loves figs. A page from Champi and the Fig Tree (Courtesy Pratham Books) 14pp, ₹70; Pratham Books
The protagonist is awe-struck when she discovers that her favourite fruit has many other fans, including squirrels, hornbills, porcupines and civet cats. Without being didactic, the author signals a gentle shift from an anthropocentric view of the universe to a more holistic and inclusive vision that respects the place of all sentient beings in the vast web of life.
Anna, Champi's elder brother, is a storehouse of knowledge about animal behaviour. He joins her in all her adventures. 'Porcupines cannot climb trees, Champi,' he tells her. 'This must be a civet cat's droppings. Both eat figs. But they are both very shy animals, and come out only at night.' He encourages her curiosity, and answers all her questions patiently.
'Champi, in fact, is the name of one of my dogs, and the fig tree is my best non- human friend on the farm I live on,' says Bhasthi. 'Of course, we also have all those animals that I mention on the farm. They are a big menace, but I wouldn't have it any other way,' she adds.
Bhasthi lives with her husband and her dogs in a 'small, sustainable open brick cottage' built on a former coffee plantation in Kodagu, Karnataka. This land, which has belonged to her family for close to a century, has jackfruit, mango, fig, bakul, mahogany, 'and loads of other shade-giving trees'. Alongside, they have mongooses, porcupines, wild boars, and 'some 50-odd kinds of birds that live in and around'. Her parents live on the other side of the farm.
The author's intimate connection with nature comes through in the way she has envisioned the protagonist and plot but she is also embarrassed about how her 'Instagram-y' her life sounds.
While her husband has recently turned into an avid beekeeper, she does not work on the farm as much as she would like to. 'The idea was to slow down and be a farmer when we moved back here but the writing career kind of blew up, not that I am complaining at all!' she says. 'I don't find the time to do much. It is mostly my husband who works on things.'
The story was originally written in Kannada as Anjoora, Anjoora, Yaara Anjoora and published in 2024 on StoryWeaver, a multilingual digital library of children's stories, created by Pratham Books. Since the platform is geared towards development of reading skills, stories are published using a Creative Commons license and they can be downloaded free of cost as well as translated into numerous languages. While other translators have worked on the Marathi, Gujarati, Odia, Hindi, Tamil, French and Bahasa Indonesia translations, Bhasthi translated it herself into English. It came into being as a printed book in English this year.
Bijal Vachharajani, Commissioning Editor at Pratham Books, says, 'I met Deepa during the British Council Art X International Publishing Fellowship 2022 in Jaipur. It was just so wonderful listening to her talk about all the work that she has done in translation.' When Pratham Books got a grant from Parag — an initiative of Tata Trusts — to develop and publish 'Kannada-first books', the editorial team at Pratham Books reached out to Bhasthi.
Radhika Shenoy from Pratham Books, who edited the book, says, 'Working with Deepa Bhasthi was a great experience. This is her first picture book and she was very enthusiastic about the process. She had clear ideas about how she wanted to write and translate the story, and at the same time she was open to conversations so it was a very smooth process.'
The publisher also brought in Thejaswi Shivanand as a guest editor to work on the Kannada story with Bhasthi. With his wealth of experience as a librarian and educator, and his immersion in the world of picture books, he was able to help Bhasthi think more clearly about the possibilities of the format that she was working with and the target audience.
He says, 'The initial draft was text-heavy. Over time, Deepa was able to figure out what was absolutely essential to say in words, and what could be conveyed through images. These are parallel forms of storytelling. Deepa was new to it but she embraced it.' He wanted to ensure that his feedback was not overwhelming and her voice came through. Working on this title was a special joy because of his familiarity with the flora and fauna of the Western ghats. A page from Champi and the Fig Tree (Courtesy Pratham Books)
The book is illustrated by Joanna Mendes, who says she was delighted to take on the assignment as her son had just begun to learn Kannada at school. She hoped that he would be 'thrilled to read a Kannada language book illustrated by his mum'. In order to get into the spirit of wonder and playfulness embodied by the protagonist, Mendes 'tuned out the noise of city life in Bangalore and delve into the memories of childhood holidays in Goa'.
The strong visual appeal of the book comes from the illustrator's use of the stippling technique, which involves 'meticulously marking dots with a pen on paper to create shading and texture'. She drew inspiration from the diverse colours and textures that exist in nature.
Mendes explains, 'I vary the technique—sometimes the dots are large or small, densely packed or sparse, forming gradients or flat areas. This kind of variation adds depth… The art is coloured using digitally composited watercolour textures, which are then overlaid with stippled layers.' She prefers to stipple by hand as 'digital stippling lacks the tactile quality, which is better achieved by using pen on paper'. Deepa Bhasthi
An integral part of the book, the illustrations transport readers into Champi's bright, colourful and dreamy world. It is a place where humans can coexist with other beings. There is enough here for all to derive what Vachharajani describes as 'sustenance and joy'.
This book might seem like a small achievement in comparison to the £50,000 bestowed by the International Booker Prize, and shared equally between the author and the translator. However, the satisfaction that comes from putting a smile on a child's face is priceless.
Chintan Girish Modi is a journalist, educator and literary critic. He can be reached @chintanwriting on Instagram and X.