A River Sutra by Gita Mehta is a beautifully lush book. It is a modern Canterbury Tales set in India filled with interesting characters and interwoven plot lines.

A River Sutra is set on the banks of the Narmada River in India. The narrator, a retired civil servant, has opted to run a tourist home for visitors and pilgrims to the sacred river. The novel is comprised of a collection of the stories of his many interesting guests and others he encounters while working there. There is the story of a Jain monk who once was a millionaire, a teacher on a mission to fulfill the dream of his most talented student, a tea company executive possessed by an amorous female spirit, an aging courtesan searching for her kidnapped daughter, and the secret lives of a talented minstrel & professor of archaeology. In addition, there are insightful conversations with a local doctor, the village emir, and his innocent, but ever wise servant. The stories are told from the perspective of the various guests describing their background and how they came to be at the guest house. Interwoven with the individual stories are chapters told by the narrator relating the outcome and his learning from each of these stories.

A River Sutra is delightful to read. Mehta’s attention to detail makes the book a wonderfully descriptive travelogue of the byways of India. It is very evocative of the lush jungle environment. Along the way the read learns about the history, culture, traditions, and religions of India. Each story is an individual meditation on life – some happy, some sad.

Gita Mehta was born in India and is the daughter of an Indian diplomat. She was educated in Cambridge. She is a writer and producer of documentaries. She is the author of Karma Cola (1979), Raj (1989), Snakes and Ladders: Glimpses of Modern India (1997), and Eternal Ganesha (2006). She lives in New York.

A River Sutra by Gita Mehta is wonderful book. It is a richly evocative book. It is a modern Canterbury Tales. I highly recommend this book!

© 2013 Su Terry

Su Terry: Education: B.A. in History from Sacred Heart University, M.L.S. in Library Science from Southern Connecticut State College, M.R. S. in Religious Studies/Pastoral Counseling from Fairfield University, M.Div. in Professional Ministry from New Brunswick Theological Seminary. She is a retired librarian from Dowling College, Long Island, NY. She is a literary judge for the Ben Franklin Award.