Features folktales with motifs that appear in European stories, but are thought to have originated in India.

On these pages we meet adventurous princes, romantic princesses, wily peasants, tricky animals--and an abundance of monsters, djinns, gods, goddesses, and powerful magicians. In colorful, exotic settings reminiscent of The Arabian Nights, brave heroes and virtuous heroines triumph over the forces of evil, often with fantastical or comic results. These folktales, collected orally in the desert state of Rajasthan in 1986-87, are eloquent reflections of the great cultural traditions of India, and are stories that bring enchantment to audiences everywhere.

This book of oral tales from the south Indian region of Kannada represents the culmination of a lifetime of research by A. K. Ramanujan, one of the most revered scholars and writers of his time. The result of over three decades' labor, this long-awaited collection makes available for the first time a wealth of folktales from a region that has not yet been adequately represented in world literature. Ramanujan's skill as a translator, his graceful writing style, and his profound love and understanding of the subject enrich the tales that he collected, translated, and interpreted. With a written literature recorded from about 800 A.D., Kannada is rich in mythology, devotional and secular poetry, and more recently novels and plays. Ramanujan, born in Mysore in 1929, had an intimate knowledge of the language. In the 1950s, when working as a college lecturer, he began collecting these tales from everyone he could--servants, aunts, schoolteachers, children, carpenters, tailors. In 1970 he began translating and interpreting the tales, a project that absorbed him for the next three decades. When Ramanujan died in 1993, the translations were complete and he had written notes for about half of the tales. With its unsentimental sympathies, its laughter, and its delightfully vivid sense of detail, the collection stands as a significant and moving monument to Ramanujan's memory as a scholar and writer.

Beloved by Manhattan society for mystical gatherings in their exotic parlor, they leave America amidst a storm of controversy, and set out for adventures in the Orient on a quest for the secrets of Eastern wisdom."--BOOK JACKET.

Beyond Boundaries-Reflections of Indian and U.S. Scholars documents experiential learning of exchange scholars from India and the U.S.A. These essays from Fulbright Scholars, Post-Doc Researchers, Humphrey Fellows, and participants of International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), and East-West Center, provide a diverse spectrum of their cultural and academic experiences. The personal essays in this collection are interesting, shocking, and unforgettable. Anyone interested in studying in the United States or going to India ought to read this book for it provides a rare perspective that comes from observing a country from the students' point of view. Here, students learn, share and make the connections that go on to the making of a better and safer world for us and for future generations. While these essays do not necessarily present a representative picture either of India or the U.S.A., the sketches do describe exchange experiences of interest to anyone who is concerned with people, cultures and diversity. The production of this book was partially sponsored by the Fulbright Academy of Science & Technology. www.FulbrightAcademy.org

The book is a traditional form of narrative, orally transmitted and one of the most significant genre of folk-lore.