Customer Reviews

A River Sutra

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

"A River Sutra" is the third Gita Mehta book I've read. Previous to this I enjoyed "Karma Cola" and "Snakes and Ladders." As a non-fiction writer, Ms. Mehta is lean, sharp, caustic, and witty. She gets to the heart of the matter, and doesn't hold off on personal opinion. I didn't know what to expect from her fiction, but I was surprised. She seems like a different writer. A gentle side comes through "A River Sutra" that leaves you feeling deeply for the characters she's created. It's not that the stories are fluff, they're not; it is that she employs a lyricism that was unexpected. The river is the Narmada, one of the holiest in India; and, a sutra is both a thread, and a discourse that constantly unwinds. This aptly named book is a study of love, and another look at India - sometimes fanciful, sometimes frightening, but always warm hearted.

I had to buy this book for my Asian literature class at the university. But when the quarter had come to its end, I did not want to sell it (which is what I do with so many other books). This book took my breath away, while I was reading it for the first time, and it still does, because I re-read it at least once a month. If I don't have time to read it all or when I feel down, I just open up any passage at random and read couple of sentences. The beauty of River Sutra is very much in the hands of its author, Gita Mehta, I must say. I have read many books about India (books, where India has been a subject of a fiction, as it is in this case), but River Sutra is not just another book that shows India in a hopelessly romantic way. At first, it may seem as such, because the author does employ magical realism and romanticism in her work. However, if you read it more than once, you will start feeling the power of the narration in a completely different way... You will realize that it is not JUST A ROMANTIC FICTION about oh-so-romantic country... For me, reading this book, in itself, sounds like a mantra (subject, touched on in the book, by the way). Stylistically, Mehta rises to the level of incomparable "1000 and 1 nights" and I have not seen too many contemporary Eastern authors being able to do that. But, what's even more amazing is, that she also manages to bring her work to a modern and a very universal perspective. I hope Mehta keeps writing, and I also hope that one day I have a full collection of her works!

As an undergraduate student of comparative religions I've become gradually acquainted with the complex mosaic that is multireligious India. For an area that saw the birth of Buddhism, Vedic Brahmanism, Jainism and Classical Indian Theism (aka "Hinduism") as well as one that was historically also home to ancient Jewish, later Christian, and one of the largest populations of Muslims in the world, a lot of people in the west know very little about the rich cultural, religious and social history of the Indian subcontinent. This book is not only an excellent, accurate portrayal of the variegated cultural situation in India, it's also an engaging, well-written, compelling collection of short stories that stands on its own as a work of fiction.

Mehta tells the story of a retired government official who now resides on one of the largest and holiest rivers in India. The official was never a religious man, but now that he has a chance to relax and observe his surroundings, he is able to take in the diversity around him and start his own query into the spiritual side of life. Using this frame, Mehta illustrates the official's encounters with numerous characters who, each in turn, tell their stories to the retired official. As the collection progresses, he encounters many characters, including a Jain mendicant, a Muslim music teacher, a wandering ascetic, a courtesan seeking her kidnapped daughter, a virtuoso sitar player, and a tea plantation official who has encountered Nagas. Throughout, Mehta uses each character to explore different religious themes that are represented in India and weaves them all into a cohesive search for spiritual truth, all with a surprising ending that will make you want to re-read the whole book just so you can try to understand.

A River Sutra is easy to read and enjoyable too. I read this book as a culmination for a course on religion in India and found it to be an excellent fictional summation of different religious themes that I had already learned about. Although I already had read more "academic" and traditional texts about these subjects, this book was a welcome take on each religion interacting with others. Sure, there are more technically informing textbooks and religious texts you could read to understand beliefs and practices of Indians, but you won't get a more enjoyable and readable work of beautiful literature to start off your learning. I think this book will pique your interest in the different subjects and offer you a gateway into many wonderful religious literary and academic traditions (whatever interests you) that you may not have already known about. Out of all the books I've read in courses on religion, A River Sutra is the one I most often recommend to anyone and everyone who likes a good book.

Gita Mehta's "A River Sutra" came highly recommendedby a friend and I'm grateful for it 'cos I found it a delightful andenjoyable read. The River Narmada is the perfect metaphor for Mehta's representation of the rich complexities of spiritual and mythical life throughout the ages. The narrator, a retired bureaucrat, begins his journey of discovery into the soul of his country by the holy river where he encounters a myriad of colourful characters and situations altogether unfamiliar to him. By taking refuge up at the rest house, he seeks escape from life but realises finally that he has "chosen the wrong place to flee the world" because "too many lives converge on the banks of the River Narmada". Fittingly, his awakening takes place by the holy river, which in Mehta's words "is an unbroken record of the human race". The main message seems to be that conscious escape from life is self defeating. Meaning flows from life, without which all search for spiritual fulfillment is fruitless. Food for thought. Mehta's language is beautifully poetic and lyrical but never obscure. Like many Indian writers, she too dabbles a little in magical realism which only adds colour to the enchanting stories spilling out of the river. A truly delightful novel. END

The body of water referred to in the title, A River Sutra, is the Narmada River which is India's holiest river believed to possess mystical healing and cleansing powers. The promise of the river attracts a variety of characters with different motivations. The stories are otherwise completely detached from each other in person and circumstance except for their common relation to the narrator; more so to the narrator's supposed renunciation of the world.
Many may argue that the mutuality of the stories would lie in the River Narmada; although the river does flow throughout the novel and it is an obviously strong force in each traveler's tale, it does not function as aptly a unifier as the narrator. The river is omnipresent in the background and it is the shared destination amongst the trekkers; yet it does not combine the stories in any other way. The narrator, however, receives a final enlightenment at the completion of the anthology which ties the novel together. Initially, he boasts that he has rejected the world in his decision to relocate to the jungle and he equates his distance from modern civilization to complete denial of the "real" world. However after he has heard the many versions of renunciation from the visitors and Tariq Mia, only then does he realize the true meaning of the word and the action. The sutra, or the common thread, of the book is the narrator's rejection of the world; the purpose of the book is to portray the narrator's romanticized renunciation versus the harsh reality of true abandonment.
Each narrative is embedded with an archetypal morally based theme pertaining to evolving stages of human existence and the penance that we must offer for our human faults. There are three objects of renunciation in the novel - material, love and life.
The book is about external sources erupting into the life of the unmasked narrator and catapulting him onto a spiritual awakening upon the backs of these people's narratives. The title utilizes the word "sutra" which signifies a collection of aphorisms; the book characterizes these teachings in the bodies and renunciations of the river's visitors and the narrator, as the student to these narratives, represents the common thread.

- A Positive Analysis of Mehta's Masterpiece

Gita Mehta's A River Sutra touches upon the subjects that truly affect people's lives. Through her varying characters and collage of colorful tales, she evokes themes about emotion, desire and finding one's true self. Mehta proposes these heartfelt themes, by utilizing simple diction. This simplicity, however, still creates intricate, and descriptive ideas. For instance, one of Mehta's characters, Nitin Bose, states, "the extraordinary thing about inventing a persona is that one is loathe to give it up, especially if the fiction sits comfortably."(Pg. 118) Nitin Bose's statement offers good advice and a sophisticated insight, without being muddled by ornamented diction. Mehta even uses a favorable format in her novel, which enhances individual parts of the book, yet ties them altogether. Mehta writes multiple short stories, however connects them to one central theme. Mehta arrives at her theme by using characters that have different backgrounds in a sense, (profession, gender, family etc...) yet all undergo major life changes, which shape their very existence. Thus, the main theme of A River Sutra stems from the many different lifestyles and experiences the characters in the story embrace. This theme evokes the insight that each person has a destiny, which they will discover through life-changing events. I believe that such a strong central theme displays the deep meaning and insightful philosophies A River Sutra offers. I personally revere this aspect of offering expedient advice to readers. Too often in books, one reads for plot and objective analyzing. A reader experiences very little self-fulfillment or growth in such books. A River Sutra, however, not only gave readers insights into the complicated lives of diverse characters, yet it also used these character's experiences to present the dos and don'ts of life. Mehta's character the musician, for example, exemplified the idea that one should not take what they possess for granted. She wanted to marry like all the other young, beautiful women. She, however, did not initially see fault in desiring a traditional marriage to a man. She thus took for granted her stronger "marriage to music." (Pg. 224) This foolish pursuit has now left her "dead inside." (Pg. 226) Through the musician's misfortune, readers have gained knowledge about choosing life's pursuits carefully. A reader can also expect this same idea, or a similar idea in another one or several of Mehta's short stories. This expectation defines the beauty of the book format. Then surrounding the short stories, a narrator speaks about his reflections and reactions about the other character's tales. The narrator's reflections display the closest A River Sutra comes to achieving a solid plot. Thus, one can define the plot as a man who listens to the struggles and experiences of different people, and learns from his newfound perspectives on life. Despite the lack of one plot, but rather the triumph of many short story plots, A River Sutra delivers a great read for a person to learn and love.
A River Sutra did possess, however, some trivial flaws. Considering its creative style of combining short stories, Mehta had to sacrifice some clarity and cohesion in the book. Sometimes you feel engrossed in a story, like that of the courtesan's daughter, and then find that a new story has suddenly changed the book's focus. Also, although Mehta connects all the stories to a central theme, each story possessed its own lessons, which sometimes muddle Mehta's central focus. One, however, can overcome this sporadic confusion by simply keeping in mind the elements of past stories while reading. Another aspect of A River Sutra that one may find challenging to understand and follow comes with the terms used. Although Mehta uses clear diction, she often refers to Indian terms like, "Kama" or "aesthetic" and expects a reader to know them. Although the reader can find a definition of these terms at the end of the book, I doubt any involved reader would want to leave the reading in order to look up ambiguous references. Therefore, some ambiguity defines Mehta's only mistake in A River Sutra. Most readers would agree that Mehta's novel does indeed have some ambiguity. Readers would also agree, however, that this book presents great philosophies and ideas, which every person should embrace. This opinion stems from the fact that most readers will experience some frustration and possible boredom when reading A River Sutra, however, when looking back on the novel, they will find an enlightening read that shared new knowledge, and new insights.

- RAMI

I would rate this book as -1 on a scale of 1 to 5. What tripe! What blather!

I can almost picture Gita Mehta going to her cocktail parties in the West and having friends and acquaitances coming up to her and saying, "Oh, Gita dahling, we just loved the River Sutra! Your vignettes are so charming, and your language so very poetic. There's a certain Indian mysticism about the book that just carries one away. I've never been to India but your book gave me a good picture of that great country". Indeed.

It gave a native of India like me also a good picture. Not of my country but about what Ms Mehta and others of her ilk are all about: a slighly more sophisticated exoticization of India than the average Western view (snake-charmers, elephants, swamis, mystics) with a veneer of literary attitude.

I can't help but think that this exoticization is not incidental or just a mere coincidence. Ms Mehta is probably well aware that she's no Rushdie or Seth. And makes up for that by peddling to the West the image of India that sells well. Surely we deserve something better.

For those of you looking for decent Indo-Anglian stuff, I would recommend Seth's A Suitable Boy, Rushdie's Midnight's Children or perhaps Upamanyu Chatterjee's English, August. Stay as far away from Gita Mehta as you can.

A River Sutra is a strange mystical book... rich with stories and beliefs, which grow and have lived forever at the banks of the Holy River Narmada.
The narrator believes that he has renounced the world and is living happily now away from the sharp corners of real life in his bungalow by Narmada.

As he moves from one story to the other, strewn at the banks of this river he finds many questions, several incomplete endings and many aspects of life not yet experienced by him.
The stories themselves are beautiful - some sad but always beauiful, intricately and strongly binded together by the river which runs through them all, they are not inter related except for the river and the narrator who tries to grasp the stories in a context relevant to him. The story of the beautiful blind child singer, the lady with the golden voice and a broken heart, the love inflicted tea estate manager and ofcourse the waif child and Naag Baba, to name a few.

He ponders on the meaning of each story and the potent belief which the river, the beautiful maiden, hides within her, what dark secrets, what untold mysteries.

This continues till the end, where he is made to realise the importnat truth, which perhaps will answer some of his questions. How difficult it is to attain a human being's life, the soul must travel through eighty four thousand births in order to become a man. A life as precious as this cant be spent as a back seat viewer to life, it has to be experienced fully. One has to be a part of the play not a by stander in order to understand and experience the mysteries and nuances of life. Although his current life serves as a wonderful retreat in which to ponder life and rest, its not a permanent state of being. Which path the narrator will finally chose is left unsaid. And that perhaps is not important. Its the story and the final realisation which make this book complete, the end result does not matter.

Its astonishing to know, how much history, belief, faith and magic one river can hold... I for one am completely happy to be swept away by the flow of this river as the story unfolds. Truly this book is an experience worth having.

"A River Sutra" aided me in my knowledge of India. I found many of the religious customs and culture interesting. Although I am surrounded by diversity, this book gave me insight to the actual practices of Hinduism and Jainism, customs that I was not familiar with before reading this book. Each story carefully expressed a different theme yet they all intertwined. I would have liked to have more resolution in each tale. Each character disappeared after their tale was told. I understood each character's story and basic message of human emotion and habits but I was not sure if the narrator did. I feel that the book would have been more enjoyable if I could have understood the narrator more or if he had been more intelligent. Some of the stories could seem very realistic in a middle class American society, stories that I really can relate to. Although the setting was so unfamiliar to me, I could understand each story and identify with some of the characters.
Mehta's writing evokes clear, descriptive pictures in my head. Her style is easily understood, yet extremely thoughtful. Instead of stating the obvious, she leaves the reader to infer what could possibly have happened. Each story was pessimistic in that it was not the ideal happy ending many readers would have been content with reading. I enjoyed that aspect, but I also would have liked a little more clarity. As far as Mehta's diction, she uses many Indian words. The glossary was very helpful!! I would recommend this book to others if they were interested about learning about other cultures.

In A River Sutra, the main character and narrator, whose name is perhaps Ashok, renounces the world and runs a resthouse near the Narmada River, the holiest river of India. Throughout the novel, he encounters several different people, all with entertaining stories. The reader follows the narrator's opinions and thoughts throughout the story, perhaps sympathizing and agreeing with him or in other cases, developing a dislike for him.

A River Sutra holds the reader's attention with its interesting short story collection yet it seems to lack a common theme. It is difficult to link together or find a common theme for all the stories. Perhaps the overall theme is linked in the title "A River Sutra". We could assume that "river" is referring to the Narmada River. "Sutra" is a common thread. Maybe the Narmada River is the common thread between the stories the reader looks for . All of the main characters in the separate stories for some reason or another are near the Narmada River, to cure their troubles, for example. The lack of theme does give the book a mystical edge and leaves the reader rather intrigued after ending the book.

Gita Mehta clearly exemplifies her gift for language in A River Sutra. She uses vivid language and yet does not lose the reader to confusion. Nevertheless, the characters that Mehta creates do not appeal to the reader, specifically to me. The narrator, for example, does not grow throughout the book. He seems just as ignorant as he was at the beginning of the book as he was at the end. When the courtesan disappears off the cliff, he doesn't seem affected at all. When he discovers that Naga Baba became the Professor Shankar, he flies into an unreasonable rage instead of taking advantage of the experience of hearing the wise words of a man, who like the narrator, has renounced the world, not once but twice. The narrator is not the only character that I did not like. Master Mohan, although he had a good heart, was very weak and killed himself so he would not have to deal with the loss of Imrat, his star pupil, and his family's cruelty. Similarly, the courtesan was weak, running from her problems with the law and the loss of her husband and jumps off a cliff. Spineless characters like Master Mohan and the courtesan disgusted me and was perhaps the reason why I, personally, give the book four out of five stars.

Overall, I would recommend the book as a school assignment, as it stimulates much controversy and discussion, or for pleasure reading.