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