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In Naga-Mandala Karnard weaves two Kannada folk-tales together. The first one comments on the paradoxical nature of oral tales in general; they have an existence of their own, independent of the teller, and yet live only when they are passed on from one story-teller to another. Ensconced within this is the story of Rani who makes up tales to fill the void in her life. Rani's predicament poignantly reflects the human need to live by fiction and half-truths, the need not to push the search for Truth beyond the point where the whole edifice of day-to-day living may come tumbling down.