"Old Deccan Days" is a fascinating collection of Indian folktales and legends authored by using Mary Frere, a British author and folklorist. This book gives readers a satisfying glimpse into the wealthy cultural background and storytelling traditions of the Deccan location in India. Mary Frere, who spent an enormous a part of her existence in India because the daughter of a British colonial administrator, had a deep appreciation for the local culture and its oral traditions. In "Old Deccan Days," she brings to existence the mesmerizing narratives and folklore she encountered during her time in India. The book is a treasure trove of tales that variety from myths and legends to ethical stories and anecdotes, ready towards the backdrop of the Deccan plateau. Through those stories, Frere introduces readers to a diverse array of characters, inclusive of kings, sages, animals, and everyday human beings. The stories regularly carry valuable lifestyles lessons and cultural insights, making them no longer only unique however additionally instructional. "Old Deccan Days" is a testament to Mary Frere's dedication to retaining the wealthy background of Indian storytelling.

A collection of twenty-four traditional Indian folk tales from the state of Maharashtra, first published in 1868.

A long-lost collection of Indian fairy tales transcribed by the daughter of the British governor of Bombay. In the cold months of 1865, young Mary Frere and her father, Bartle Frere, British governor of Bombay, set out in a caravan across the Deccan province of south central India. During their journey Mary transcribed 24 popular Hindu folktales told to her by her nursemaid. That collection of tales, which she published as Old Deccan Days, not only became the first Indian folklore collection in English, it established a new genre of writing about British India. These marvelously imaginative tales from the Indian oral tradition are peopled with beautiful, smart, outspoken women; restless, adventuresome men; gods who take on human form; and animals who know the secrets of human destinies. Evil magicians cast spells on humans, changing them to plants, and demonic, ogre-like Rakshases savor human flesh.

Mary Eliza Isabella Frere (1845–1911) was an English author of works regarding India. In 1868 Frere published the first English-language field-collected book of Indian fairy-tales, Old Deccan Days.Frere was born in Gloucestershire, England on 11 August 1845. Her father, Henry Bartle Frere, served in the colonial administration of Bombay since 1834. In 1862 he was appointed Governor of Bombay.Mary Frere published several poems and a play. Her most popular work was "Old Deccan Days; or, Hindoo Fairy Legends, Current in Southern India. Collected From Oral Tradition", printed in 1868. According to Frere's introduction, she began her collection of Indian folklore during long travels with her father. Her only female companion was a local ayah named Anna Liberata de Souza. She was a Christian descendant of the Lingaet caste from the Mahratta country. What started as an idle conversation evolved into a thorough recording and study of Indian culture. German orientologist Max Müller reviewed Frere's collection and wrote that her rendition of Sanskrit originals read like a direct translation of ancient Sanskrit. Frere's father assisted with the editing of the work and wrote an introduction to the first edition of Old Deccan Days.