Author: J Hinton Knowles
Publisher: LP Publications
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 510
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8175363460
Description
Folk-tale is a subject which requires the most dainty treatment and the careful analysis. Most folk-lorists find it as a source to analysis the practices, ideas and beliefs of the people of ancient and middle ages. In those days fables was popular as it was adopted as medium of instruction. It is believed that an apposite or well-told story would arouse attention where logical arguement or abstract reasoning would fail to produce the slightest effect. These fictitious narratives with their moral and religious applications had a very considerable influence upon the literature of those days.
Some folk-lorists believe that several tales must be attributed to a mythological origin, but some others believe that many tales must be attributed to historical origin. However, whatsoever the nature of treating the folk-lores, India has abundance of popular folk-lores in its credit, among which the stature of Kashmir is unparallel. Perhaps, Kashmir has not been surpassed in fertility by any other country in the world. But, for centuries the great treasure of these fairy tales of Kashmir had remained unknown to the rest of the world due to its isolated position and difficulty of language.
This book is an attempt to tell the story of one of the greatest of our Indian Provinces from the social point of view. As the author points out, many of the tales in this collection are purely Kashmiri in origin, while others are undoubtedly variants of popular tales current in India and other parts of the world, which have been adopted and modified to suit the language, style of thought and social usage of the country.
Indeed, it's a book of rare-kind that will draw the attention of all readers of all age group.
Contents
PREFACE
The Seven-Legged Beast
The Cat Who Became A Queen
Good King Hatam
Metempsychosis
The Charmed Ring
The Crow-Girl
A Lach of Rupees for a Bit of Advice
The Ogress-Queen
The Goldsmith and His Friends
The Tale of a Princess
The Prince who was Changed into a Ram
Saiyid and Said
The Cruel Merchant
The Man From Shiraz
Shabrang, Prince and Thief
The Troublesome Friends
The wicked Stepmother
True Friendship
Three Blind Men
All For a Pansa
Pride Abased
The Two Brothers
The Base Friend
Haya Band and Zuhra Khotan
The Clever Jackal
A Stupid Boy
Four Princes Turned into Stones
The Brave Princess
Three Princes
The Diligent King
The Ivory City and Its Fairy Princess
A Strange Request
The Unjust King and Wicked Goldsmith
The Philosopher’s Stone
How the Wicked Sons Were Duped
A Stupid Husband and His Clever Wife
The Prayerful Faqir
Unity is Strength
The Pir of Phattapur
The Sagacious Governor
Their only Ruby
The Jackal-King
The Black and White Beards
The Story of a Weaver
The Robbers Robbed
The Young Gambling Merchant
The Day-Thief and the Night-Thief
The Cunning Goldsmith
How the Princess Found Her Husband
The Clever Parrot
The Malecontent Cured
The Stupid Peasant
Karm Ya Dharm
Four Wicked Sons and Their Luck
Sharaf the Thief
A King and His Treacherous Wazir
The shipwrecked Prince
Gagar Wol and His Servant Ratun
The Wicked Queens
The Four Princes
The Jogi’s Daughter
Gullala Shah
Why The Fish Laughed
Nagray and Himal
Glossary