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Synopsis Hardcover edition of this book is currently out of print. However, its paperback edition is now also available.In this special omnibus edition, R K Narayan, India's finest living English language novelist, retells the two great Indian epics The Ramayana and The Mahabharata as well as other well-known incidents from Hindu mythology and folklore. Retaining the spirit of the originals, R K Narayan, the consummate storyteller, has given us classic works from a glorious tradition recast in his own inimitable style.From The Ramayana, the story of Lord Rama's life, believed to have been composed by Valmiki in the fourth century BC, Narayan draws inspiration from the eleventh century Tamil poet, Kamban's version. His Mahabharata is based on Vyasas's monumental work, perhaps the greatest story ever told, composed around 3,500 years ago. In the third book in this anthology, Gods, Demons, and Others, Narayan retells stories from a variety of sources - Kalidasa's Sanskrit classic Abhijnana Shakuntalam, the Tamil epoic Silappadikaram, the Shiva Purana and the Devi Bhagwatam, besides The Ramayana and The Mahabharata.