The first offering and other stories / Vijay Padaki.

"The stories in the two volumes are packed with a wide variety of plots and a charming range of characters. They combine intriguing content with witty narration. There is the house maid with a pair of exquisite gold anklets; a policeman who befriends a house servant accused of a petty crime; the nineteenth century bungalow with a spirit hidden in its walls; Â the tigress falling in love with a handsome man; the mother of a man held hostage who refuses to join the prayer meeting; learning a thing or two from the wisdom in a tribal community; a grandfather who discovers another form of intelligence in a little boy not revealed before others; a bond between a teen-aged girl and the family gardener, coming to terms with cancer; a village boy migrating to the city in the retail boom; elders falling in love and seeking rules of the game; death rituals turning tragically funny; telepathic bonds in identical twins; a spooky visit to a police station; the story of the last cheetah in India .... And that is just a sampler! The stories are kept short and sweet, never imposing, always entertaining."--