Discuss Raka as a metaphor for ruined childhood in Anita Desai's Fire on the mountain?

Raka is left to Nanda after her parents, an abusive father and oppressed mother, move to Geneva while she is still sickly after having recovered from Typhoid. She is unlike other children and instead of looking for company of other children, finds refuge in nature. She is extremely caring towards animals. Raka seeks the therapy of nature from her ruined childhood.