Fiction. Foklore. South Asia Studies. Translated from the Tamil by Pritham K. Chakravarthy. Ki. Rajanarayanan has spent three quarters of a century collecting the weirdest and wildest tales from the karisal mannu, the scorched, drought-stricken land of Tamil Nadu. This colorful and often hilarious collection includes a gallery of conniving goddesses and jealous husbands, pious sparrows and randy mice, jewel-crazy girl ghosts and angry star demons. WARNING: Includes a chapter of "naughty & dirty" tales!