Plain tales from the hills (published in 1888) - Written by Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling, a Nobel laureate was born in India to a vivacious Alice Kipling and sculptor Painter, John Kipling. His works range from poems, to children's books. Rudyard was a English language writer whose prose is peppered with colloquial usage and languages mainly from India which opens a window to the prevailing culture and customs of the time. His children's stories are the most endured classics of the time and his short stories are the most sought after. Many of his works are deemed to be controversial as the time progressed. Rudyard Kipling was the product of an imperial India where imperialism under Queen Victoria was at its heights. His poems like "White Mans Burden" are often sited as a clarion call for the imperialist and has been criticized by subsequent humanist. But as one of the youngest Nobel Prize recipient for English Language, the place for Kipling in human history cannot be discounted and his prose and poems enthuse millions even today.
Plain stories from the hills are a collection of short stories penned by Kipling during his stay in India as a journalist. Out of the 40 stories, about 15 to 20 of them were published in the Civil and Military gazette, the paper for which Kipling worked for and the rest were new ones. These stories depict the various facets of life in imperial India, the lives of the natives and the English Sahibs. He often puts up a satirical look on the ways and behavior of the English who treat the natives like untouchables.



Many of the stories are set in Shimla which used to be the summer capital of British India. Most of the Englishmen would shift to the hill station to escape from the heat of the plains. Here the traditions of British India along with the Indian elite produced a different world itself. The stories also are set up among the natives who are portrayed in a simple fashion and in the plains of India.
Here his recurring characters namely Mrs Hauksbee, Policeman Strickland and the Soldiers three appear. The most common refrain of Mrs Hauksbee who cannot suffer stupidity "What fools men are!" starts from this book. The tales include Lispeth,Three and - an Extra, Thrown Away, Miss Youghal's Sais, Yoked with an Unbeliever, False Dawn, The Rescue of Pluffles Cupid's Arrows, The Three Musketeers, "His Chance in Life", Watches of the Night, "The Other Man", Consequences, The Conversion of Aurelian McGoggin, The Taking of Lungtungpen, A Germ-Destroyer, Kidnapped, The Arrest of Lieutenant Golightly, In the House of Suddhoo, His Wedded Wife, The Broken-link Handicap, Beyond the Pale, In Error, A Bank Fraud, Tod's' Amendment, The Daughter of the Regiment, In the Pride of his Youth, Pig, The Rout of the White Hussars, The Bronckhorst Divorce-case, Venus Annodomini, The Bisra of Pooree, A Friend's Friend, The Gate of the Hundred Sorrows, The Madness of Private Ortheris, The Story of Muhammad Din, On the Strength of a Likeness, Wressley of the Foreign Office, By Word of Mouth, To be Filed for Reference
My personal favorite is Miss Youghal's Sais, which tells the story of the class divide. Strickland is a policeman of English Origin who has to mix with the locals and is looked down upon by the English Elite. He meets and falls in love with Youghal, a English girl whose mother forbids the relation. He disappears and disguises as a native and gains employment as her groom. As their love affair continues, a General who is smitten by Youghal's charm flirt with her. This is too much for Strickland who reprimands him. The good natured General forgives him and get them together. Good stories for the soul.