Can you change a predator’s nature without changing who he is? Raghu is no ordinary tiger. While other tigers hunt for meat, Raghu is drawn to grass, leaves and fruit. His unusual nature makes him an outsider, leaving him with questions no one seems able to answer. Why is he different? Where does he belong? And who decided what he should become? Sara is a gifted young research scientist shaped by childhood bullying, painful rejection and the devastating loss of people she loved to tigers. Haunted by grief and determined to prevent others from suffering as she did, she turns to genetic science in search of an impossible solution: a tiger without the instinct to kill. Raghu is the result of her experiment. Raghu is a tiger cub whose difference takes him on a journey through rejection, friendship, courage, and the search for where he truly belongs. But as Sara watches him grow, scientific achievement gives way to an uncomfortable question. In trying to make Raghu safer, has she saved a life or taken away his right to choose his own nature? The Grass-eater grew from a simple but unusual question: what would happen if a predator could feel the pain of its prey? Told across alternating timelines, the story follows the intertwined journeys of a scientist confronting the consequences of her ambition and a tiger searching for the truth about himself. A thoughtful and hopeful story about genetic ethics, trauma, identity, belonging, love and companionship, and the courage to accept those who are different. For readers aged in the middle-grade but also for older readers who enjoy emotionally layered animal stories and contemporary fables. About the Author: Neha Kailas-Karthik is a debut author with a fascination for stories that explore emotions, relationship dynamics and the choices that shape who we become. Through her story, Neha hopes to encourage young readers to look at the world from another perspective, question what it means to be different, and discover the strength in empathy.
