Folk-Tales Of Kashmir

Kashmir as a field of Folk-lore literature is, perhaps, not surpassed in fertility by any other country in the world; and yet, while every year witnesses the publication of books on the subject from Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Panjab, and other parts. The author’s primary object in collecting these tales was to obtain some knowledge of Kashmiri, which is a purely colloquial language; his secondary object was to ascertain something of the thoughts and ways of the people. Lately, he has been contributing some of these tales to the pages of an Indian journal; and now, prompted by the advice of those whose advice he especially value, he ventures to publish the whole collection in a book, and thus save them from the clutches of oblivion, to which they would otherwise have been consigned. Many of these tales are, probably, purely Kashmiri in origin, while others are undoubtedly variants of popular tales current in India and other parts, which have been adapted and modified to suit the language, style of thought, and social usages of the country. He would draw the attention of the Folk-lorist to the notes in connection with these different stories. They have been gathered and arranged with some care, in the hope that they may help the reader to turn up readily to variants of the tale, or of different incidents in the tale. The book is a collection of 40 fables and about 100 odd folktales collected by him during his stay in the Valley as a missionary. This book is a reprint of the 1887 edition.