Pancatantra: The Book of India's Folk Wisdom (Oxford World's Classics (Paperback))

Rating:
Summary: Fables from India Well Presented.
Review: Pancatantra the ancient book of fables, is an interesting collection of animal stories composed in India around the third century of the Christian era. It has been one of the first Indian classics to be translated into the western languages. Therefore these fables with their relevance to political, moral and religious life have become widely known and acclaimed. Patrick Olivelle the chair of the department of Asian Studies at the University of Texas in Austin, equipped with necessary expertise and familiarity with the subject matter and language, has translated these fables and rendered them in plain everyday language, though with all their complexities, for the sake of the American readers. The very informative introduction and extensive explanatory notes make the text fairly simple and easy to understand and relish. For those interested in the Indian classics, this storybook is a wonderful gift.

Rating:
Summary: A classic children's book (and manual on life...)
Review: This is a translation of an old Indian children's book that is, not surprisingly, also a moral tale on how to live, and, perhaps more importantly, how to govern. I'm not in a position to comment as to whether this is a good or bad translation; it is a fun read for adults and I suppose that a pretty progressive or multicultural parent could read it to their kids in place of the Brothers Grimm or something else....

I liked the book. Other books in the age-old stories of wisdom from around the world: "Monkey: A Journey to the West" by Wu Ch'eng-en (translated by Arthur Waley, among others), the tale of Mil-e-re-pa (translated by a number of people: this one might be too risque for a lot of kids....), the 'Meditations of Marcus Aureleus', and the 'Conference of the Birds' by Farud-din Attar. Not that I am an expert on raising kids through multicultural readings.....

This is a neat book (though I think that this particular translation might be a bit dry.... it's been a while since I read it...) and it should be bought. And someone other than me should have reviewed it!