RIVER AS METAPHOR AND REALITY: AN ECOCRITICAL ANALYSIS OF 'SIDDHARTHA' AND 'A RIVER SUTRA' (Pages 263-272) by Ms. Lissy Kachappilly in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

India is a country with variety of ecosystems, But in course of time these ecosystems have been adversely affected due to the increase in population and avarice of mankind. The concern for human survival on the planet has made nature a topic of socio- cultural and political debate today. As Glotfelty suggests” ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment…it takes an earth-centred approach to literary studies.”( The Ecocriticism Reader xix) The prominent role of rivers in the Hindu mythology is noteworthy. The waters of a river purify a man’s mind and body and help him in attaining salvation. Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha deals with the spiritual journey of self- discovery of an Indian man named Siddhartha. It is the river which leads Siddhartha in the right direction, to the path of enlightenment. Siddhartha learns that enlightenment cannot be reached through teachers because it cannot be taught—enlightenment comes from within. This realization itself comes from within. Narmada River is an abstergent refuge for the corrupted and distraught souls in Gita Mehta’s A River Sutra. This novel is a series of short stories, which are all linked by the same themes of love, repentance and suffering. The stories are told by an unnamed narrator, and they are all centered on the theme of the river Narmada. In both the novels the river serves as the background and milieu in which the story unfolds, and functions as a metaphor and reality in the Indian cultural context. Unlike the Western concept of nature which is framed on a more utilitarian concept, as a means and instrument of progress, the Indian concept of nature is more philosophical and spiritual. This paper examines this ecological union of man and nature in the novels of Hesse and Mehta. Key Words: Ecocriticism, Ecosystems, Rivers, Physical Environment, Self realization, enlightenment etc.