By Jayasree Kalathil

Illustrated by Rakhi Peswani

Edited by Deepa Sreenivas

Who is the sackclothman? Where does he come from? Anu’s curiosity about the village ‘madman’ leads to an unlikely friendship and a key to her own world.

Published by Mango, DC Books (2008)

ISBN-13: 978-81-264-2032-2

Part of the Different Tales project. Different Tales unearths stories from regional languages: stories that talk about the life-worlds of children in communities that one rarely reads about in children's books. Many of the stories draw on the writers' own childhoods to depict different ways of growing up in an often hostile world, finding new relationships with peers, parents and other adults. They take us on enticing journeys as they speak of delicious cuisines, ingenius little games, unexpected lessons at school and heartwarming friendships.