India, June 28 -- 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 other species, through the story of a girl named Champi who loves figs. 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 beings in the vast web of life. Champi's elder brother, her "anna", 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, it is home to mongooses, porcupines, wild boar and "some 50-odd kinds of birds that live on and around it". Her parents live on the other side of the farm. The author's intimate connection with nature comes through in the way she envisions the protagonist and plot, but Bhasthi says she is also embarrassed about how "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." Champi and the Fig Tree was originally written in Kannada as Anjoora, Anjoora, Yaara Anjoora, and published in 2024 on StoryWeaver, a multilingual digital library of children's stories. Since the platform is geared towards the development of reading skills, stories are published using a Creative Commons licence and can be downloaded free and translated into numerous languages. While other translators have worked on the Marathi, Gujarati, Odia, Hindi, Tamil, French and Bahasa Indonesia translations, Bhasthi translated it into English herself. It came into being as a printed book in English this year. Radhika Shenoy of Pratham, who edited the book, says working with 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 very smooth too," she adds. The publisher also brought in Thejaswi Shivanand as guest editor, to work on the story with Bhasthi. "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," Shivanand says. Working on this title was a special joy, he adds, because of his familiarity with the flora and fauna of the Western Ghats. The book is illustrated by Joanna Mendes, who was delighted to take on the assignment as her son had just begun to learn Kannada at school. 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 delved into the memories of childhood holidays in Goa," she says. The book's strong visual appeal 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. "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," Mendes explains. "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". 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 Pratham commissioning editor Bijal Vachharajani describes as "sustenance and joy". To some, this book might seem like a small achievement in comparison to the £50,000 bestowed by the International Booker Prize. However, the satisfaction that comes from putting a smile on a child's face is priceless....