Assuming the character of a wise village storyteller, R K Narayan sits in the cool of an imaginary evening to recount the tales of the centuries. Taken from the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and other Indian epics, the gods and demons, saints and sinners assume their symbolic and philosophical roles without ever losing their human characteristics. It is a measure of the author’s achievement that he so subtly imbues them with his own distinctive wit and vision. This book is illustrated throughout by Narayan’s brother R K Laxman, with woodcuts based on temple carvings.