Saraswati A novel

Forbidden love is a common theme in Punjabi folklore. Among these tales is the very real story of Sejal and Jugaad, lovers belonging to different castes in the nineteenth century who built their home in Hakra, a village in the fertile Indo-Gangetic plain. The couple's seven children each received the name of one of the rivers that flowed through. Johal's ambitious debut traces the sinuous paths of the seven siblings as history's sweeping tides displace descendants--including an environmental activist, a Kenyan archaeologist, and a Mauritian entomologist--around the globe. The story of fabled river Saraswati coming back to life on the Hakra farm after running dry for centuries launches the descendants' story with impressive momentum. Johal graphs an expansive arc of India across the centuries, including the cataclysmic partition of India and Pakistan, the rise of Hindu nationalism, and the wreckage wrought by environmental destruction. At times, the connection between the various narratives starts to fray. But focusing on the narrative forest over the trees will sweep the reader along in the story's earnest fervor.