About the book: 1978 / All nations have their Khoja Nasreddins. The peoples of South India also have folk heroes. This is the witty Tenali Raman, inexhaustible in funny antics, the resourceful and quick-witted minister Appaji, the honest, impartial judge Maria dei Raman, skillfully unraveling the most complex cases. These heroes - or rather, their real prototypes - lived several centuries ago, but their jokes, in which deep wisdom is hidden under innocence, and continues to amuse lovers of folk humor to this day.