Puffin Classics: Timeless Tales from Mar

For centuries, Rajasthan has been a gold mine of oral traditions and histories with Padma Shri Vijaydan Detha being one of the foremost storytellers of all time.

Timeless Tales from Marwar gives a new lease of life to his folk tales. It is a hand-picked compilation from the much-celebrated Batan ri Phulwari--'Garden of Tales'--a fourteen-volume collection written over a span of nearly fifty years.

Retold in Detha's magical narrative style complete with imagery, this selection offers some of the oldest and most popular fables from the Thar Desert region. Discover tales of handsome rajkanwars, evil witches, exploitative thakars, miserly seths, clever insects, benevolent snakes and more. Vishes Kothari's vivid English translation introduces one of the most venerated figures in Rajasthani folk culture to a wider audience.

Rajasthani writer Vijaydan Detha is one of the most prolific and celebrated voices in India. He has been conferred with the Padma Shri, Rajasthan Ratna Award and the Sahitya Akademi Award among various others for his writings that span decades. Popularly known as Bijji, Detha has written more than 800 short stories many of which have been translated into multiple languages. Detha's timeless classics have been adapted into major plays and movies, some notable names being Paheli, Charandas Chor and Duvidha.

About the Translator:

A financial consultant by profession, Vishes Kothari has a keen interest in the oral and musical traditions of Rajasthan. He completed his masters in mathematics from the University of Cambridge, prior to which he studied at St Stephen's College, Delhi, and King's College, London. He has been associated with UNESCO-Sahapedia on projects focussed on the musical traditions of women in Rajasthan, and as a language expert with the Jaipur Virasat Foundation.