Rumi's Tales from the Silk Roads

This title includes thirty thought-provoking tales on morality, faith, and the human heart from the "Mathnawi" that are lovingly rewritten for modern readers by Rumi enthusiast Kamla K. Kapur. Written almost 800 years ago, Rumi's stories reflect the blended characteristics of the East and West. The Sufi poet travelled in a landscape divided between the Persian and Byzantine empires and his poetry expressed the passions, fables, and faith of both worlds. Inspired by Rumi, Kamla K. Kapur's "Pilgrimage to Paradise" is a reworking of the translations of thirty of his stories - tales of wit, wisdom, and faith. The basis for Kapur's stories is Rumi's six volume "Mathnawi", an epic Sufi mystical poem of more that 25,000 verses, as translated from the Persian by Reynold A. Nicholson. Kapur brings the dense, intimidating volume into a more readable form - putting her own spin on the stories, yet remaining true to Rumi's vision. Charming stories such as "The Witch of Kabul" and "Moses Learns a Lesson", bring Rumi's verses to life as clever fables. "Pilgrimage to Paradise" gives readers one of Persia's greatest literary treasures in an accessible form that will entertain and enlighten. Kamla K. Kapur's previous book of short stories based on Indian mythology "Ganesha Goes to Lunch" (Mandala Publishing) was published in 2007. Five of Ms. Kapur's short stories were published in "Parabola" and an additional two in their anthology series "The Inner Journey".