Toli upadhyayudu, (First Teacher Duishen) Chingiz Aitmatov, translator Uppala Lakshmana Rao, 106 pp, Rs. 80 \nThe novel describes the aftermath of the Russian Civil War when a young Komsomol member and a former Red Army soldier Duishen comes to the village as the new teacher of the village. His enthusiasm to bring new ideas immediately faces resistance from a centuries-old tradition of life in Central Asia. The former soldier tries to improve literacy to this far Moslem area while villagers do not allow gỉrls to attend school. An immensely inspirational novel testifying to the power of an idealist teacher. \nChingiz Aitmatov (1928-2008) was a Soviet and Kyrgyz author who wrote in both Kyrgyz and Russian.His many novels drew on folklore, not in the ancient sense; Aitmatov tried to recreate and synthesize oral tales in the context of contemporary life. \nUppala Lakshmana Rao (1870-1930) was a novelist, dramatist and essayist.