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Orijit Sen’s River of Stories grew out of his engagement with the Narmada Valley and the people resisting major development projects there. Published in 1994, the book places a contemporary account of activism beside a mythic story rooted in Bhilala traditions. Sen’s official site calls it “one of the first Indian graphic novels in English”; it is often described more broadly as India’s first.
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How the Narmada Valley inspired the book
After leaving the National Institute of Design, Sen became involved with the Narmada Bachao Andolan in 1991. In an interview with Hindustan Times, he recalled that he and his partner, Gurpreet, joined the movement’s efforts and that friends in the environmental group Kalpavriksh helped secure a small grant for the book. Sen wrote and illustrated River of Stories in response to the struggles he encountered in the valley.
The book’s title evokes a relationship with the natural world, but its subject is not nature as scenery alone. Sen’s account contrasts the river understood as a resource for short-term gain with the ecological and cultural life of the valley. The story asks readers to consider what is lost when development is measured only in terms of extraction or immediate benefit, while leaving room for the varied experiences and views of people who live there.
Two storylines, two ways of seeing the river
Vishnu reports on a contemporary struggle
The present-day narrative follows Vishnu, a journalist from Delhi who travels to report on resistance in the valley. The fictional Rewa Andolan in the book is closely based on the real Narmada Bachao Andolan, but the two are not the same movement. The distinction matters: the book transforms a historical political context into fiction rather than presenting its plot as documentary reportage.
Rewa’s mythic story draws on Bhilala traditions
Alongside Vishnu’s reporting, Sen tells a mythic story about Rewa, a name for the Narmada, drawing on stories associated with the Bhilala people. The contemporary and mythic strands develop separately before meeting in the book. Together, they put different understandings of the river and human responsibility in conversation rather than treating the valley as a single, uncomplicated viewpoint.
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Why the 1994 publication became a landmark
Sen has recalled that comics in India attracted little interest as art or storytelling when he published the book in 1994. He said the original printing was about 800 copies and that bookshops showed little interest; copies were largely sold through People Tree, the bookstore he and Gurpreet ran. He also recalled that the book had gone out of print by 1996. These are Sen’s interview recollections, not independently verified circulation figures, and “about 800” describes the print run he remembers—not copies sold.
The “first Indian graphic novel” label is widely used, including in coverage of the book, but priority claims depend on how “graphic novel” and “first” are defined. Sen’s official River of Stories page uses the more qualified phrase “one of the first Indian graphic novels in English.” That wording preserves the book’s importance without presenting a disputed category claim as settled fact.
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The anniversary edition and later catalog listing
Blaft Publications lists a hardcover River of Stories (25th Anniversary Edition), ISBN 978-93-80636-50-4. The 2022 edition is described as including a foreword by Arundhati Roy. A separate Google Books catalog record lists a 2026 US edition, ISBN 9781935717232, at 116 pages, credited to Muae Publishing with Kulhar Books. These are distinct edition records; a catalog listing does not confirm current stock, and availability depends on territory and retailer.
In the 2023 Scroll.in interview, Sen explained why he brought the book back into circulation: “I brought this book out again to tell people there is a long history of resistance and protesting. To me, it’s very important that people realise that.” The remark connects the anniversary edition to the book’s continuing purpose: keeping the history of resistance visible through a story that links political conflict to cultural and ecological ways of understanding the river.
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