Gurnaik Johal on Rivers, Family and Pub Chats

Rippling Pages: Interviews with Writers

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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

70 episodes

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