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Just like the tales and legends of Iliad give a magical patina to the mystique of Greek of yore, this slim book And That is Why with enchanting myths and legends from Manipur, recreates a world that lends a strange yet acceptable dimension to our humdrum lives.

Well-known author and cultural maestro, L Somi Roy, may have retold the tales for a young audience, but such are the re-tellings that an adult is forgiven if charmed by them. As a cultural, literary and sport celebrity who is native to Manipur, Mr Roy has picked a collection of legends that tickles one’s imagination and, at least to this writer, encourages lateral thinking.

Indeed, why does the pied cuckoo drink only rainwater or the cat bury its poop? How much is fable, how much myth, how much just simply wonderful flights of imagination recounted while gathered around the village fire, one can only conjecture; but each story will transport one to a wonderful world where boundaries cease to exist and reason takes second place to pure ingenuity.