Here is R. K. Narayan's delightful selection of stories from India's vast treasure-house of myths and legends handed down through the ages. Drawing his stories from The Ramayana, The Mahabharata and other great Indian epics, Narayan tells the tales as they might be recounted by the wise village storyteller.
In the legends, where all things are possible, one thousand years seem only a second, and good ultimately triumphs over evil. The Devi, who is the personification of the highest beauty and energy, vanquishes the demon Manisha who has invaded the heavens. Manmata, the god of love, is burned up physically when he enrages the austere god Shiva. Yama, the god of death, is persuaded for the first time to relinquish a soul when the mourning but determined Savitri pleads for the return of her husband.
The spectacle of battle, the fascinating mystery of the supernatural, the passion, devotion and laughter of love, the quest of the spirit for eternity — such are the ingredients of legends. And Narayan's retelling evokes them all with superb skill to provide the reader a treasury of enchanting myths which have for centuries painted the landscape of Indian life and mind.
"His appeal is timeless and very, very great." — Time Out
"The modern retelling of ancient tales generally makes for a spurious kind of literature .... It's no good unless the stories can be made first-hand again, dragged up out of the artist's own invention again, and that hasn't often happened outside poetry. But it's happened here. These are far and away the best retellings of Indian tales that I've read, and I've read some hundreds." — Ted Hughes, The New York Review of Books
Book Details:
Author: R K Narayan
Pages: 242
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Imprint: Vision Books
ISBN-13: 9788170945000