ABSTRACT
Folk narratives or folktales are distinguished by their use of wonder and magic as the most important tools of storytelling, but the term “fairy tale” refers to a particular form of wonder/magic that has been most prevalent in the West Asian and European folktale. “Fairy-tale worlds” refers to the world of wonders and magic in the folktales of South Asia. The forms of these are hugely different in different parts of South Asia, but a belief in wonder and magic is prevalent all across it. This chapter organizes the discussion of “fairy-tale worlds” of South Asia according to the following categories: wonder/magic rooted in religious beliefs; wonder/magic and nature; and wonder/magic and realism combine in distinctive narratives series. One of the typically South Asian forms of wonder/magic is connected to the belief in rebirth. The fairy-tale world of South Asia is created by the imagination of the diverse peoples and communities that inhabit it.
