A.K. Ramanujan's outstanding selection is an indispensable guide to the richness and vitality of India's ageless oral folklore tradition.

Folk tales from India.

Bringing together nearly one hundred tales translated from fourteen languages, Folktales of India opens the vast narrative world of Indian folklore to readers of English. Beck includes oral tales collected from tribal areas, peasant groups, urban areas, and remote villages in north and south India, and the distinctive boundary regions of Kashmir, Assam, and Manipur. The tales in this collection emphasize universal human characteristics—truthfulness, modesty, loyalty, courage, generosity, and honesty. Each story is meant to be savored individually with special attention given to the great range of motifs presented and the many distinct narrative styles used. Folktales of India offers a superb anthology of India's bountiful narrative tradition. "This collection does an excellent job of representing India. . . . It is the type of book that can be enjoyed by all readers who love a well-told tale as well as by scholars of traditional narrative and scholars of India in general."—Hugh M. Flick, Jr., Asian Folklore Studies "The stories collected here are representative, rich in structural subtlety, and endowed with fresh earthy humor."—Kunal Chakraborti, Contributions to Indian Sociology

Traditional Indian lore through the eyes of two artists. “Their collaboration is nothing short of phenomenal. The illustrations take you into another world.” —Medium A shape-shifting tiger and a pretentious rat. A generous goddess and a powerful demon. A clever princess and a prince who returns from the dead. This collection of sixteen traditional tales transports readers to the beguiling world of Indian folklore. Transcribed by Indian and English folklorists in the nineteenth century, these stories brim with wit and magic. Fans of fairy tales will encounter familiar favorites—epic quests and talking animals—alongside delightful surprises—an irreverent sense of humor and an array of bold, inspiring heroines. Each tale in this ebook comes alive alongside exquisite artwork by a pair of contemporary Indian artists.

16 delightful tradition stories, including "Palwahn the Wrestler," "How Princess Maya got her Deserts," "The Munificent Miser," "The End of the World," and 12 other traditional tales.

Timeless tales from all over India. From Bengal to Bastar and Kashmir to Coorg, there are stories that have been handed down generations: bedtime stories for children, fireside stories for travellers, who have heard these tales, wondered at them and repeated them to others. In A Twist in the Tale: More Indian Folktales, Aditi De collects forty such stories from various parts of India and retells them with dollops of humour. A friendless crocodile, a timid mouse and a vain fox are among some of the eccentric characters that appear in this book. There is also a clever princess, a hapless priest with heron feathers flying out of his mouth, and galleries of rogues. Strange happenings are not uncommon, so a nail tree grows out of nail clippings and a beetle saves a man from the dungeons. Full of the details of everyday life, festivities and food, these ageless stories have seldom been so exciting and such fun. Accompanied by Uma Krishnaswamy's brilliant illustrations, this book will introduce the magic of Indian folktales to a new generation of readers.

A folk and fairy folktales series which sheds light on the key anthologies of traditional tales from the golden age of folklore discovery.

Beautifully told retellings of classic stories from India. Full of richness and warmth, these tales of tender love, great heroism, acts of sacrifice, foolishness and friendship come vividly to life. There is an epic battle in which monkeys and bears help rescue the beautiful princess Sitafrom evil demons and a simple fable about a jackal who tries to become king. This tapestry of stories is as colourful and diverse as India itself. Sources in selecting the stories have been Sanskrit and Pali, the classical languages of the Brahmans and the Buddhists. Many of these tales were current centuries before the Christian era and were given a sophisticated form by the storytellers of classical times. * The subject of myths and legends ties in with the National Curriculum. * Classic retellings have continued to sell for over thirty years. * Before his death the author lived in Maidstone in Kent.