{"product_id":"2940012769268","title":"Old Deccan Days","description":"INTRODUCTION                                             5\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    THE COLLECTOR'S APOLOGY                                 12\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    THE NARRATOR'S NARRATIVE                                15\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e     1. PUNCHKIN                                            27\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e     2. A FUNNY STORY                                       44\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e     3. BRAVE SEVENTEE BAI                                  51\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e     4. TRUTH'S TRIUMPH                                     81\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e     5. RAMA AND LUXMAN; OR, THE LEARNED OWL                98\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e     6. LITTLE SURYA BAI                                   113\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e     7. THE WANDERINGS OF VICRAM MAHARAJAH                 129\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e     8. LESS INEQUALITY THAN MEN DEEM                      161\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e     9. PANCH-PHUL RANEE                                   164\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    10. HOW THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE WIND WENT OUT\u003cbr\u003e          TO DINNER                                        194\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    11. SINGH RAJAH AND THE CUNNING LITTLE JACKALS         196\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    12. THE JACKAL, THE BARBER AND THE BRAHMIN WHO HAD\u003cbr\u003e          SEVEN DAUGHTERS                                  199\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    13. TIT FOR TAT                                        218\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    14. THE BRAHMIN, THE TIGER AND THE SIX JUDGES          220\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    15. THE SELFISH SPARROW AND THE HOUSELESS CROWS        225\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    16. THE VALIANT CHATTEE-MAKER                          227\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    17. THE RAKSHAS' PALACE                                236\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    18. THE BLIND MAN, THE DEAF MAN AND THE DONKEY         248\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    19. MUCHIE LAL                                         258\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    20. CHUNDUN RAJAH                                      268\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    21. SODEWA BAI                                         280\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    22. CHANDRA'S VENGEANCE                                291\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    23. HOW THE THREE CLEVER MEN OUTWITTED THE DEMONS      314\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    24. THE ALLIGATOR AND THE JACKAL                       326\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    NOTES                                                  333\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eINTRODUCTION.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA few words seem necessary regarding the origin of these stories, in\u003cbr\u003eaddition to what the Narrator says for herself in her Narrative, and\u003cbr\u003ewhat is stated in the Collector's \"Apology.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith the exception of two or three, which will be recognized as\u003cbr\u003esubstantially identical with stories of Pilpay or other well-known\u003cbr\u003eHindoo fabulists, I never before heard any of these tales among the\u003cbr\u003eMahrattas, in that part of the Deccan where the Narrator and her\u003cbr\u003efamily have lived for the last two generations; and it is probable\u003cbr\u003ethat most of the stories were brought from among the Lingaets of\u003cbr\u003eSouthern India, the tribe, or rather sect, to which Anna de Souza\u003cbr\u003etells us her family belonged before their conversion to Christianity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Lingaets form one of the most strongly marked divisions of the\u003cbr\u003eHindoo races south of the river Kistna. They are generally a\u003cbr\u003ewell-favored, well-to-do people, noticeable for their superior\u003cbr\u003efrugality, intelligence and industry, and for the way in which they\u003cbr\u003ecombine and act together as a separate body apart from other Hindoos.\u003cbr\u003eThey have many peculiarities of costume, of social ceremony and of\u003cbr\u003ereligion, which strike even a casual observer; and though clearly not\u003cbr\u003eaboriginal, they seem to have much ground for their claim to belong to\u003cbr\u003ea more ancient race and an earlier wave of immigration than most of\u003cbr\u003ethe Hindoo nations with which they are now intermingled.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe country they inhabit is tolerably familiar to most English readers\u003cbr\u003eon Indian subjects, for it is the theatre of many of the events\u003cbr\u003edescribed in the great Duke's earlier despatches, and in the writings\u003cbr\u003eof Munro, of Wilkes, and of Buchanan. The extraordinary beauty of some\u003cbr\u003eof the natural features of the coast scenery, and the abundance of\u003cbr\u003ethe architectural and other remains of powerful and highly civilized\u003cbr\u003eHindoo dynasties, have attracted the attention of tourists and\u003cbr\u003eantiquaries, though not to the extent their intrinsic merit deserves.\u003cbr\u003eSome knowledge of the land tenures and agriculture of the country is\u003cbr\u003eaccessible to readers of Indian blue-books.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut of all that relates to the ancient history and politics of the\u003cbr\u003eformer Hindoo sovereigns of these regions very little is known to the\u003cbr\u003egeneral reader, though from their power, and riches and long-sustained\u003cbr\u003ecivilization, as proved by the monuments these rulers have left behind\u003cbr\u003ethem there are few parts of India better worth the attention of the\u003cbr\u003ehistorian and antiquary.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOf the inner life of the people, past or present, of their social\u003cbr\u003epeculiarities and popular beliefs, even less is known or procurable in\u003cbr\u003eany published form.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47081664774384,"sku":"2940012769268","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940012769268_p0.jpg?v=1763572505","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940012769268","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}