Women, rivers, and serpents: Reifying the primordial link in Gita Mehta’s A River Sutra

Abstract

Gita Mehta’s A River Sutra has been variously regarded as a philosophical treatise on the nature of love; as a description of the various sub-cultures within India, or sometimes even as mere entertainment – a light read. Few reviews or studies have ventured to examine the distinctively gendered nature of the narrative. This article attempts to uncover the subtle but persistent “sutra” that affirms the feminine principle throughout. The tales, beaded together in the frame narrative, connect rivers, serpents, the cult of the goddess, and the feminine principle in interesting and significant ways. It is noteworthy that this is accomplished despite the all-male coterie of characters who stud the frame narrative. The link between contemporary landscape, mythic patterns, and the feminine principle that is evidenced in the text, A River Sutra, brings to light its feminist context, one that has hitherto been overlooked.