A River Sutra: A Journey on the Narmada

I picked up A River Sutra from Eloor Library because the blurb on the back of the book suggested that it is ideal for travel.

Well, in a way, it is, and it isn’t. The book deals primarily with the travels of the soul – sounds deep, right ☺️ and not the kind of book I normally like to try out. But it is written in such a simplistic yet beautiful way that I enjoyed reading it.

In a nutshell, the book is like a series of short stories narrated by one man—a retired civil servant who wants to retire from the worldly life and enter “vanaprastha”—that stage in a Hindu’s life where he renounces his worldly desires and tries to focus on attaining salvation. He chooses to do this by becoming a manager of a government resthouse in a remote area on the banks of the Narmada River.

While performing his regular duties, he encounters various people who flock to the Narmada, hoping it will help them resolve their problems. Some of these people include a Jain monk, a woman betrayed by her lover, a man who thinks he is possessed by a ghost, and many more interesting people. They tell him their life stories, and listening to them, the old man realizes there is so much to life that he never knew of or experienced.

Ostensibly, this book is a compilation of all these people’s stories, but more importantly, it is a lyrical homage to the Narmada River. Gita Mehta’s descriptions of the places and the river’s moods are beautiful. Frequently, she refers to the river as “the source,” subtly conveying that it is the source of all life. The book also has some beautiful passages, songs, and poetry that bring out the beauty and holiness of the Narmada River. It’s such a pity that I did not copy it to share with you 😔.

For a reader like me who has always associated the Narmada River mainly with its seemingly never-ending dam issues, it was a lovely opportunity to read and understand why this river inspires such strong emotions amongst the local people.

Last words: I enjoyed reading this book. It is rather unusual and may not always click with everybody, but it is very easy to read and quite short, so I think anyone even mildly interested in Indian writing, specifically Indian mythology, should give it a try.

However, some of the stories are quite tragic, so don’t go into this book expecting breezy, easily resolved stories—you will be disappointed.

While browsing the web, I found that Gita Mehta has another similar book called A Mountain Sutra. Now, I am curious to learn what that is all about.

Anyone read either of these books? What were your thoughts? I would love to know.