India, Feb. 15 -- India is often described as a civilisation of grand metaphysics, soaring philosophies, and intricate systems of thought. Yet, beneath the elevated abstractions of the Upanishads and the theological disputations of learned schools, there thrives another India - earthy, unschooled, sharp-witted, and instinctively wise. This India speaks through its folk tales. In these seemingly simple narratives - told by grandmothers at dusk, sung by wandering bards, enacted in village squares - resides the distilled wisdom of generations. They reveal a people who, despite deprivation and hierarchy, have evolved a resilient pragmatism, a democratic intelligence, and an irrepressible sense of humour.

Consider the vast corpus of the Panch...