The Shadow of the Tiger is a symbolic and philosophic work concerned with illusion and reality, and contesting forms of truth. Tukra s Dream centers on a poor villager who survives precariously on the very edges of rural society. In Alibaba and the Forty Thieves, the wellknown tale becomes an enjoyable spoof as well as a comment on greed. Celebrated as a poet in his home state of Karnataka, Kambar s work is imbued with a poetic sensibility, laced with earthy humour.