Change does not come easily to the central Indian village of Nandgaon. The
headman, Gopal Mundkur, fears it: he suspects that modern science will only
cause the destruction of the fragile harmony that binds Nandgaon and its people
together. But when Ramu, the village simpleton, marries Laxmi, the college
educated daughterof a poor farmer, their union gives birth to a miracle that
will change Nandgaon forever, and there is little Mundkur can do about it. The
unlikely catalyst for this transformation is Manoj Mishra, a failed PhD in
history,who believes he has found the solution to rural India's poverty. And he
will let nothing and no one