Folktales, since time immemorial have been a source of knowledge, cultural beliefs and practices and most importantly, entertainment. Leaving an indelible mark on people’s memories and consciousness, folktales have played the role of a teacher before books, television, internet and other modern technological inventions took the human race by storm. Brief, secular in nature and a repository of knowledge and culture, folktales have had a strong appeal for the masses. The cover page consists of a montage of illustrations from different stories in the anthology with the title written on the silhouette of the leaf of a Peepal tree, symbolizing antiquity and eternity, very much like these folktales. Carrying tales from seventeen States of India, the collection is quite varied and wide in its coverage of themes. The collection is also diverse in terms of the forms of stories included. There are humorous tales, such as, ‘The Two Travellers’ and ‘Buying a Song’. There are fables, such as, ‘The Wily Jackal’ and ‘The Tests of Friendship’.
November 2016, volume 40, No 11