Our Non-veg Cow
and Other Stories

Mahasweta Devi

Translated by Paramita Banerjee

Out of Print

 

5 x 8.5 inches, x +106pp. 2009

ISBN : 9788170461456

Rs  175.00 (PB)
$12.99 (PB)
£9.99 (PB)

In this volume Mahasweta Devi reveals a fresh new face to those who know her only from her hardhitting socially committed writing—as a writer of delightfully whimsical and funny children’s stories. This is a side of her personality that young readers in Bengal have enjoyed and savoured for over thirty years. This volume consists of ten favourite stories, selected by the author, from Sandesh, a popular children’s magazine closely identified with the family of the renowned film-maker Satyajit Ray, who edited and illustrated it for years.

 

These irresistible stories abound with unlikely and colourful characters: a vehemently non-vegetarian cow, the household pet, who wolfs down fried fish and gets drunk on local spirits; an irrepressible prankster of a brother who gets himself and everyone else into trouble with his mischievous tricks; a father who thinks nothing of filling the entire house with hens and chickens whilst on an economy drive, and a teeming assortment of others, like Chittu, the little creature who changes into a pebble or mongoose at will.

 

Though aimed at young readers, these ribtickling tales have a heartwarming humour likely to remind everyone of the crazier members of their own families. 

Mahasweta Devi is one of India's foremost writers. Her powerful fiction has won her recognition in the form of the Sahitya Akademi (1979), Jnanpith (1996) and Ramon Magsaysay (1996) awards, amongst several other literary honours. She was also awarded the Padmasree in 1986, for her activist work amongst dispossessed tribal communities. 

 

Paramita Banerjee is a Calcutta-based translator engaged in research, especially on women's issues.

Selected Works Of Mahasweta Devi
Fiction
Children's Literature