India, May 10 -- Kunju Namboodiri wishes to marry a second time, but fate has other plans. A man visits the mythical city of Dwaraka in the first Malayalam fantasy tale. An abandoned infant is raised as a Muslim until her royal identity is discovered. An unknown India is revealed in the pages of this significant series of Malayalam short stories drawn from the late-19th to mid-20th centuries. Ringing with the music of the language, peppered with wit and social commentary, the tales are windows to the past and its people: their everyday struggles and joys; ties of friendship and faith; politics of love and rejection; intricacies of betrayal and envy; and conflicts of class and caste. While remaining relevant to our present, the collection punctures the boundaries of time and space. These stories also trace how much Indian society has changed....