Kintaro(Japan)

Once upon a time, there was a boy who lived with his mother on Mt. Ashigara. His
name was Kintaro, and he was very strong from the day he was born. Kintaro
wore a red harakeke (a kind of clothing worn by small children long ago) that his
mother made for him emblazoned with the character "kin" (which means "gold")
and often went outside to play. Kintaro's friends were the creatures of the
mountains, such as rabbits, monkeys, and wild boars. All of the animals liked
Kintaro. They played sumo together, but no one could ever beat Kintaro. One
bear who was very proud of his strength decided to take Kintaro on, saying, "I'll
wrestle you," but Kintaro won. One day Kintaro took a hatchet, climbed onto the
bear's back, and went off into the mountains with his friends. On the way, they
came to a cliff overlooking a big stream and found that there was no bridge
across. "I'll knock a tree over and make us a bridge," said the bear. But even
though he pushed and pushed, the tree didn't budge. "I'll give it a try," said
Kintaro, and he began to push with all his might. When he pushed, the tree began
to move, and with a loud crack, it fell over and spanned the river. "Hooray!"
shouted all of Kintaro's friends. Just then a voice called out from behind, saying,
"What incredible strength!" When Kintaro turned around to look, he saw a great
samurai and his retainers. The samurai said to Kintaro, "Your strength is
incredible! Won't you please become my retainer?" "Can I become a warrior?"
Kintaro asked. "Of course, you can," said the samurai. "One day you'll become a
magnificent warrior." Kintaro went home and told his mother, "I want to become
a great warrior, too." His mother said to him, "I'm sure you'll be a splendid
warrior. Your father was a powerful warrior himself. Don't worry about me. Go
ahead and go." Kintaro said goodbye to his mother and his animal friends before
heading off into the mountains. "Mother," he said, "thank you for raising and
taking care of me. I will never forget your kindness. I will come back and get you."
After Kintaro grew up, he became a powerful warrior called Sakata Kintoki and
vanquished an ogre living on Mt. Oe. Kintaro then sent for his mother, and the
two of them lived together happily ever after.
A Devoted Son(India)

Varma is proud because his son, Rakesh, is at the top of the academic list in India.
Rakesh credits his parents, mainly his father, for allowing him to be successful. He
bows and touches his father’s feet.

Rakesh’s intelligence and ambition take him to the United States, where he
receives an excellent medical education and brings more honor to his family.
Rakesh clings to the traditions of his homeland, however, and allows his mother
to arrange his marriage. He then returns from the US and moves back to his
childhood home to be with his parents and new wife. He works hard at the
hospital and continues to make a name for himself, improving the lives of those
around him.

Varma is no longer the center of attention in the household, so he does things to

get people to notice him. For example, he lays still in bed and makes the others
think he is dead. Varma pretends to be dead during his grandson’s birthday party,
and the family is so distressed, they send the guests away and prepare to mourn.
He then pops up from his bed and lets the others know he is alive and well.

Soon, faking his death no longer works, so Varma looks for other ways to become
the center of attention once again. The older he gets, the more his health fails, so
Rakesh changes his father’s diet and makes him take supplements and other
medications. Rakesh’s devotion to his father and his desire to make him proud
never falter. Using his medical knowledge, he does what he can to prolong his
father’s life.
At first, Varma appreciates what his son does for him. But before long he starts to
view his son’s actions as a form of torture. This is especially apparent when
Rakesh takes away the food and treats his father loves. Varma believes his son
should give in to his desires even if they are unhealthy or could lead to his death.
Varma goes so far as to bribe his grandson to buy sweets and sneak them into the
house. When the bribe is discovered, Rakesh is upset with his father’s actions and
points out that Varma is turning his grandson into a liar and a cheat—all so Varma
can indulge his sweet tooth.

Varma is not the only one who seems to be upset with Rakesh. The neighbors
have long since stopped being awed by Rakesh’s accomplishments and a few of
them, including Old Bhatia, complain about his actions after Varma makes
comments about how he’s being treated. Eventually, Varma becomes so upset
that he tries unsuccessfully to lock himself in his room.

Varma refuses to take his medication, going so far as to knock the bottle out of
Rakesh’s hands. After the glass shatters on the floor, a ruckus erupts throughout
the house and the story ends with Varma saying that he wants to die. He knocks
the pillows away so that he can lay flat then tells his son that he needs to let him
go.
The Garden of Evening(Malaysia)

The Garden of Evening Mists begins in 1980, as Judge Teoh Yun Ling announces
her retirement. She is younger than most judges when she retires, and this
surprises her peers on Malaysia’s Supreme Court. What she’s not telling anyone
about her retirement is that she’s been diagnosed with a degenerative
neurological condition. She begins to forget words and has trouble articulating
things, and she knows that the disorder will invariably progress to the point
where she can’t speak coherently or even understand the spoken or written
word. At this point, flashbacks show her childhood in the era of World War Two.
Ling was the third child of an affluent Malaysian family, but their life was
completely upended when the Japanese invaded their country. Malaysia was one
of the first places the Japanese invaded right after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and
Ling and her parents fled the city along with her sister, Yun Hong. However, they
were caught by soldiers who brutally beat the girls’ parents and took Ling and
Hong captive along with a large group of child prisoners.

The girls were taken to a prison camp, where they were treated brutally. Hong, a
beautiful girl, was forced to work in the camp brothel where she was regularly
raped by Japanese soldiers. Ling realized that the only way to survive was to be
useful, so she got a job in the camp kitchen, where she was able to sneak food to
her sister. She was caught one day, and a cruel guard cut off two of her gingers.
Ling and Hong tried to stay positive by visualizing a beautiful Japanese garden that
they once saw on a trip, and by escaping the daily cruelty of their lives. After the
camp’s interpreter died, an officer named Tominaga Noburu made Ling his
interpreter. He was kinder than most officers at the camp, and when it became
clear the Japanese were going to lose the war, he took her out of the camp and
told her to escape. She refused to leave Hong and tried to make her way back to
the camp to rescue her, but when she arrived she saw a massive explosion set by
Tominaga and knew the camp would have no survivors. She was found by an
aboriginal boy who helped her to safety, and she immediately volunteered her
services to work in the post-war judicial system. She watched as Japanese officers
were tried for war crimes, and she desperately tried to find the location of the
prison camp she was stationed so the prisoners could be properly buried.

Ling went to visit friends who owned a tea plantation and met a Japanese man
named Aritomo. He was the former gardener of the Emperor and had an
elaborate garden named Yugiri. Ling asked him to create a garden in Hong’s
memory, but he refused. He did, however, offer to teach her gardening so she
could do it herself. They slowly became friends, and one day he asked her for
permission to give her a horimono, a ceremonial tattoo that would cover her
back. She agreed, and when he finished with the design, he went for a walk in the
woods and never returned, essentially leaving his house to Ling. She stayed there
for a while until she left to follow her passion for the law. The story then returns
to the present, as Ling heads to Yugiri after retirement. Although she generally
turns anyone who visits away from the garden, she agrees to hear out Professor
Yoshikawa Tatsuji, a respected Japanese author. He wants to write a book about
Aritomo’s wood carvings. As they talk, Tatsuji reveals that he knows a lot about
Aritomo, including his role in the Japanese government as the man who would
hide stolen valuables. She realizes that Tatsuji believes she’s the key - the map on
her back is the key to where he hid the valuables. The garden itself holds many
clues, and she knows that the time is right to change the garden she’s preserved
so carefully. She turns the garden into a memorial to both Aritomo and her sister
and muses that one day she’ll walk into the woods and disappear, just like he did.

The Lady with the Dog (Russia)

A forty-year-old man named Dmitri Gurov is intrigued by a young woman walking

along the seafront of Yalta with her small Pomeranian dog. Dmitri dislikes his
shrewish and intelligent wife and, as a result, has numerous love affairs. Although
the protagonist disparages women and calls them "the lower race," he secretly
acknowledges that he is more at ease in their company than in men's. One day,
"the lady with the dog" sits down next to Dmitri to eat in the public gardens. The
man pets her dog to strike up a conversation. He learns that she is called Anna
Sergeyevna, that she is married, and that she has come to Yalta on vacation. Over
the next week, Anna and Dmitri see a lot of each other and grow close. The older
man is intrigued by the exuberant naïveté of his young partner, yet he also
recognizes a trace of sadness in her character. In contrast to the elder women
with whom he used to have affairs and who would occasionally display a
"rapacious expression" on their beautiful faces, Anna excites Dmitri's desire with
her fresh and unaffected nature. In particular, he is drawn by her "diffidence, the
angularity of inexperienced youth" that reminds him of his daughter. Every
evening the couple observes the sunset from the vantage point over Yalta at
Oreanda and are impressed anew by the "beautiful and majestic" scenery. The
only things that mar Anna's happiness are the thought that her husband, Von
Diderits, will send for her and her fear that she has lost Dmitri's respect by
sleeping with him. In the end, Von Diderits sends Anna a letter urging her return,
and she leaves Dmitri with something like relief. When parting with Dmitri, Anna
states, "It's a good thing I am going away … It's fate itself!"The story concludes
with a description of Anna's visits to Moscow and the unbearable strain she feels
living this lie. Although Dmitri is perfectly happy with the way things have worked
out, he does admit to feeling disconcerted about the implications of falling in love
for the first time. He criticizes himself for being an aging, graying old man who
seduced women by pretending to be someone he was not. Dmitri comforts Anna
as best he can, but he knows that there will be a long way to go before they can
be freed from their "intolerable bonds" and live together openly.
 Compilations
of Afro-Asian
Literature

Dead Stars(Philippines)

Dead Stars revolves around a man, Alfred Salazar, and his affairs. Alfred Salazar
believes in true love and optimism to discover ecstasy in its stir. Esperanza is the
first woman he falls in love with.
The families of both of them are acquainted with each other and hence they start
a loving relationship. Both get engaged after three years of their relationship.
Alfredo is a lawyer who has strong desires and wants warmth and compassion,
however, Esperanza is an impassionate woman with having strong will and
principles. Alfredo’s love for her soon fades away when he meets Julia. Julia, now,
becomes a new object of his desire.

Julia Salas is a sister-in-law of the Judge, who is a friend of Alfredo’s father. Julia is
an optimistic and enthusiastic person having her dreams and desires.

When Alfredo comes across her, he is strongly attracted to her. On his visit to her
with his father, he engages himself in conversation with her and is attracted to
her charm. Even he is so passionate that he doesn’t disclose his engagement to
Esperanza.

To avoid the discovery of his fiancée, he keeps secrets from Esperanza too. His
eyes are doomed when he learns about Julia’s return to his native town. With the
fear of losing her, Alfredo decides to declare his true feeling for Julia.

When the Church’s function ends, Alfredo goes to meet her, though his fiancé is
waiting for him. When he reaches there, he learns that Julia has already known
about his engagement to Esperanza. She wishes him for his marriage and leaves
him.
On his return home, he gets a double blow. He finds Esperanza talking to her
friend about loyalty and faithfulness. Alfredo senses a desire to communicate. He
supports the reason for craving and choice over dishonesty.

Esperanza soon confesses that she knew about his affair with Julia. In pursuit of
his lust and heart’s content, she encourages him to cancel the wedding. However,
the wedding goes ahead as scheduled and Alfred surrenders to reason.

Near Julia’s native town, Alfred, after eight years, is sent to some work duty. On
his visit, he feels nostalgic and cannot resist his lust for Julia and soon finds an
excuse to meet her.

Julia is still single which forces Alfred to dream about starting a new life with her;
however, he soon realizes that everything is not the same as it was before.
Moreover, Julia has also changed and lost something.