Sperling, Vatsala: - Vatsala Sperling, Ph.D., fluent in a number of Indian languages and Sanskrit, learned these traditional stories at her mother's feet and enjoys introducing them to children of the Western world. Before marrying and moving to the United States, she was the chief of Clinical Microbiological Services at the largest children's hospital in India. The author of Classic Tales from India, she lives in Vermont with her husband and son.