When The Wind God Fell Sick and Other Folk Tales

'Save the tree, that's a wood nymph you see!'Readers of Indian folklore will immediately relate these words to India's finest mythmaker andJnanpith awardee, Chandrashekhar Kambar's works.When the Wind God Fell Sick and Other Folk Tales, a delightful collection of several folk stories and a play, opens up fantastical vistas in children's literature while addressing environmental concerns like saving trees, conserving forests and keeping our world green and clean. With marvellous multi-layered plots, this book transports young readers into a world full of gods, demons, princesses, sorcerers and also common people.These are tales of adventure, romance and good-natured humour. 'Daughter of the Kino Tree'celebrates the victory of love against hostile supernatural forces. In another tale, the eponymousWind God ails with a strange sickness. In 'Gullava and the Lord of Rain' the evil king Bhupathigets all trees chopped to prevent the Lord of Rain from visiting Earth. Naturally, there is a calamity.'The Tale of the Flower Queen' is a play about a wood nymph who can transform into a tree. Whenthe king of the land marries this Pushparani, his jealous senior queen plots to kill her. The fightbetween humans, who are bent on cutting a tree, and the animal world, which forms a protectivering around it, is a superb climax. The collection includes other fascinating stories too.Krishna Manavalli's brilliant English translation brings the rich folk sensibility and a vibrant Kannadaidiom to readers of the younger generation and to those young at heart.