India, Aug. 9 -- Comprising four folktales, Sorthi-Brijbhar, Bharthari-Pingla, Heer-Ranjha and Saranga-Sadabrij, the book is an anthology of stories influenced by the life and teachings of Yogi Gorakhnath, an 11th-century saint who propounded an inclusive religious philosophy that laid the foundations of the Sufi and Bhakti movements in India. Initially, the yogis of the Gorakhnath sect sung these ballads to the notes of the sarangi, as they went from door to door, seeking alms. The stories themselves existed in the oral tradition, passed down as ballads from generation to generation. The ballads represented here are also full of genies, witches, magic healers, witch doctors and ghosts, as well as angels who appear in the form of peer babas (hermits) and sages. Over the years, these stories have inspired folklorists, theatre artists and nautch parties and been performed at melas, religious events and weddings....