Suvarna Nalapat

At age 8 I read this book from my granduncle Nalapat Narayanamenon's collection.He had translated it into Malayalam language. The character of the Bishop , and of Jean val Jean are models for every humanitarian. But at age 8, I loved the baby girl of Fanteen who was growing up at a wayside inn in poverty. The girl is sent to a stream to fetch water for travellers with a huge bucket bigger than her, at dark night when snow was falling and she didnt have proper dresses.Cold and shivering the child looks at the dolls in a shop with desire and when she lifts the bucketful of water the bright and big Jupiter (palnet) was looking on as a teardrop of the sky. Then , all on a sudden she felt that the burden of bucket is released and a huge man was beside her carrying the bucket for her. She was not afraid of the stranger even in that dark lonely night, because the auther says, the little one had recognised her GOD. What a touching depiction of children and their sense of faith and love with just one touch. Even now I love to read this classical book just as I read it 65 years ago at my childhood.