Folktales of Ancient India is a collection of adapted South
Asian traditional stories. I've raided the anthropological literature for such
tales recorded by academics in search of the foundations of India's oral
storytelling heritage.
I then stripped those tales of their circuitous narratives, of unnecessary
religious references, and tried to enhance their cores of irony and simplicity.
In essence, this is my attempt to do for South Asian folk literature what the
Grimm Brothers did for European folktales: make them accessible to a modern
audience.
Illustrations for the book are being provided by Ms. Sneh Aurora, a human rights lawyer
presently living and working in India. Sneh has experience in a variety of
visual media. Some of her drawings may be seen at this website. Please bear in mind that no reproductions of her work can be
permitted.
Publication explorations are presently underway, so I can't yet estimate a
release date. Below is a list of the included tales and a brief description of
each. I've also included the full text of the introduction and two of the
folktales.
The Four Stories: A storyteller's apprenctice rescues
his master from four spiteful stories.
Savritri & Satyavan: A pious princess argues with
the god of death for her husband's life.
Harisharam The Frog: A professional liar finds himself
in a royal situation well over his head.
Bopoluchi: A young girl is duped into becoming the
bride of a thief, but finds a way home.
The Bulbul: A bird shows a young girl how lucky she
truly is.
The King of Cheats: Two cheaters meet the true king of
cheats, and the contest ensues.
Two Deaf Men: Deaf men are cheated out of their
possessions by a sly and opportunistic fellow.
The Debt: A debt that transcends generations is paid
back with a bet.
The Demon and the Thief: A thief and a devil vie for
the rights to a sleeping farmer.
Dimnah and Shanzibah: Sage jackals discuss the destiny
of the kingdom.
The Fall of Dimnah: A jackal's treachery is found out
and punished.
The
Dreamers: A couple forgets the difference between dream and
reality.
The Lucky Shepherd: An arrogant king applies an
incomprehensible test of intelligence upon a simple shepherd.
The Hare of the Moon: Hares plot to take back their
watering hole from a herd of elephants.
The Most Ornery Horse: A court jester breeds the most
temperamental horse in the kingdom.
The Sweetness of Lies: A young maiden convinces a king
that lying can be sweet.
The Lost Camel: Three wise men explain how they could
identify a camel they never saw.
O Lucky Rabbit: A tormented rabbit proves useful to the
king.
The Magic Rice Paddy: A rice paddy that can never be
harvested allows a young man to marry a harem.
The Foolish Potmaker and the Tiger: By dumb luck, a
potmaker rises to the status of hero.
The Potmaker and the Army: A man of dumb luck takes on
an entire invading army.
The
Possessed Wife: A devious wife convinces her husband that she is
possessed by the goddess Kali.
The Pumpkin and the Walnut: A fool is taught a lesson.
Killed By A Tiger: The deadly prophecy of a tiger bears
fruit decades later.
The Riddle of the Will: Sons must solve the riddle of
their dead father's parting gift.
Wisdom For Sale: A wise man sets up shop in the
marketplace, selling sagacity by the word.
The Four Unwise Wisemen: Four great sorcerors outdo
themselves.
Please remember that all of the text on this website is copyrighted by
Ray Deonandan and Invisible Worm Communications, and may not be reproduced
without my express permission.