The Rebellious Rani of Belavadi and Other Stories (An Old Book)

The Rebellious Rani of Belavadi and Other Stories contains twelve stories dealing with various aspects of South Indian Life. The themes range from the historical to the contemporary; from the religious to the secular and from the elemental to the academic. These stories explore different aspects of human relationships against the cultural background of South India and are easily comparable to those of Raja Rao, Mulk Raj Anand, Khushwant Singh and Manoj Das.

BASAVARAJ NAIKAR M.A., Ph.D., D.Litt. (California), Professor and Chairman, Department of English, Karnatak University, Dharwad-580003, INDIA, is a bilingual writer both in Kannada and in English. His Kannada publications include Huchchuhole, Kollada Neralu, Paduvana Nadina Premavira, Jogibhavi, Nigudha Saudha, Govardhanaram, Vatsalya, Beowulf, Samrachanavada, Asangata, Gilgamesh Mahakavya and Bharatiya English Sahitya Charitre. His English publications include The Vacanas of Sarvajna, Critical Articles on Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Shakespeare's Last Plays : A Study in Epic Affirmation, The Folk-Theatre of North-Karnataka, Sandalwood, Sparrows, Beloved Poems, Kanakadasa and The Thief of Nagarahalli and Other Stories, (which was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Fiction Prize for the Best First Book from Eurasia for the year 2000). His critical and research articles in Kannada and English have been published in regional, national and international journals. He reviews Indian literary works for World Literature Today, Oklahoma, USA and for many Indian journals regularly. His two historical novels on Bhaskararao Bhave of Naragund and Rani Chennamma of Kittur await publication. His research interests include Indian English Literature, American Literattire, Commonwealth Literature, Anglo-Indian Literature, Shakespeare Studies, Translation Studies, and Comparative Literature. He has a passion for music and philosophy in general. He is married and has a son.

The Rebellious Rani of Belavadi and Other Stories happens to be my second collection of short stories written over the past twenty-five years, dealing with various aspects of Indian life. The themes range from the historical to the contemporary, from the religious to the secular, and from the elemental to the academic. These stories, I believe, will capture the attention of the reader on account of the Indian sensibility operating in them and add up to the image of Indian life in some way or the other. I leave it to the discerning reader to enjoy the aesthetic pleasure according to the quality of his response.

**Contents and Sample Pages**