Genre
Coming of ager, Story within a story
Setting and Context
Contemporary, Rudra, a town near the banks of the river Narmada
Narrator and Point of View
Unnamed narrator, First person account which varies with each story
Tone and Mood
Tone is calm, mood gradually grows from calm and serene to shaken and surprised
Protagonist and Antagonist
The narrator is the protagonist, the antagonist varies with each story
Major Conflict
The major conflict is within the narrator who has retired and wants to live as an ascetic. However, he is unable to comprehend the beliefs of other people who may have a different outlook to life.
Climax
The climax of the story comes in the last story, 'The Song of the River' where it is revealed that the Naga Sadhu is in fact the Professor Shankar.
Foreshadowing
NA
Understatement
The narrator often underestimates the importance of the river Narmada in the lives of people who come to visit it.
Allusions
There are multiple allusion to ancient texts like Mahabharata, and the Upanishads in the praise of the beauty and majestic waters of Narmada.
Imagery
Powerful imagery is drawn by the narrator as he describes his mornings at the banks of the river. The narrator compares the sound of the rushing water to a chant of 'Shiv-o-ham' meaning I am Shiv. He compares the flickering light of the sun in the water as if the water has caught fire.
Paradox
The narrator starts living at the banks of Narmada hoping to retire from life and renounce the illusions of life, but he discoveres through other people that Narmada often invites people of all sorts to its banks and so a quiet life is not possible.
Parallelism
The stories of the narrator and the monk are somewhat parallel in the sense that both of them left their lives of their own will.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The river Narmada is often personified as a beautiful woman whom everyone visits for one thing or another.
