Gurnaik Johal on Rivers, Family and Pub Chats

The return of a potentially holy river in the Indian mountains - is it a sign of a new age, a divine intervention, or simply the workings of nature? These are the questions at the heart of Gurnaik Johal’s novel, SARASWATI, published by Serpent’s Tail. Frauds, politicians, mystics, writers, and the family who own the farm in which the river exists, are caught up in trying to determine what the return of the SARASWATI river means. It is a novel that is truly global in its scope, set in Canada, India, the Chagos Islands, and Wolverhampton. It was named as a Guardian newspaper selection for 2025, and shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize. Gurnaik was a winner of the Galley Beggar short story prize. 

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Rippling Points

1.55 - what is the SARASWATI?

3.35 - the family connection 

6.45 - river symbolism 

8.20 - characters in the novel 

10.30 - family dynasties and novels 

11.55- reclamation

14.45 - rippling pages bookshop 

15.30 - border conflicts 

18.40 - human connection between 

21 - romance in the novel 

23.20 - the chagos islands 

27.50 - how people communicate 

29.30 - from short stories to novels 

31.15 - being faithful to reality 

34.35 - more advice for writers