Poet, translator, folklorist, A. K. Ramanujan has been recognized as the world's most profund scholar of South Asian language and culture. This book brings together for the first time thirty essays on literature and culture written by him over a period of four decades. It is the product of the collaborative effort of a number of Ramanujan's colleagues and friends. The four sections - General Essays on Literature and Culture, Essays on Classical Literatures, Essays on Bhakti and Modern Poetry and Essays on Folklore - are each prefaced by a brief critical introduction. The volume also contains notes on each essay included here, as well as a chronology of Ramanujan's books and essays.