Book excerpt: Mullah Nasiruddin is a persona who appear in several anecdotes that are essentially witty, at times wise and philosophical, however, amidst the subtle humour lies an underlying lesson that need to be learnt. The stories incorporate moments and individuals from all walks of life. In the introduction of ‘The Stories of Mullah Nasiruddin’, Satyajit Ray had commented, “It’s a bit difficult to conjecture from the stories the nature of Mullah Nasiruddin. Sometimes he appeared to be a fool, while occasionally he seemed to be wise. Now, it’s up to you to decide.” Throughout the ages, the character of Mullah Nasiruddin has been shaped by the views, sensation and cognition of the masses, that eventually has accredited universality and century-long survival within several languages. The present image of Nasiruddin has been both deconstructed and reconstructed and therefore one should visualize and portray him accordingly as people have perceived him through his anecdotes. ‘Tales of the Khoja’, happens to be the earliest English translation of the tales of Mullah Nasiruddin. The stories are Ewing’s most significant translation that appeared in ‘Aunt Judy’s’ in April-December 1874. The tales, Horatia K.F. Eden writes, are “thoroughly Eastern in character and full of dry wit.”