Shon Mehta

  Mudita always hated the term "when the time comes." She had first heard this term when she was around five. "Stop giving her good food and good clothes," her grandmother had instructed her parents. "In fact, stop indulging her in any way." Her mother tried to protest, but was silenced with a glare. "The girl should not get used to such things," the grandmother continued. "The time has come to send her to the monastery, as it is destined for her." "What is a monastery?" Mudita asked her elder sister. "Are we all going?" "No, silly, only you," replied her sister, three years older. "You are the one who is going to become a monk." "Why me?" Mudita didn't understand. "No! I don't  want to become a monk!" She cried at the thought. Monks, with their bald heads and stern faces, always scared her. "Our parents wanted a son, but you were born," the elder sister expla...

"That is how you know it is not a democracy, and is instead a supine kakistocracy." —  Shon Mehta . A hauntingly relevant look at power, ignorance, and the gods of the digital age. When hoards of people without a job, become a bigoted lynching mob. When talking wisely makes you a ghoul, while being ignorant is so cool. When influencers and entertainers are the new gods, and a handful of money buys cheerleading squads. When every leader sounds the same, as gaining power becomes their only aim. When you see the above things, it will tell you which tune the time sings. That is how you know it is not a democracy, and is instead a supine kakistocracy . ——— Shon Mehta   is an author and philosopher known for creating the  Jivavarta Universe , a fictional setting used to explore sociopolitical themes, human resilience, and moral philosophy. Her work has transitioned from contemporary fiction to foundational academic material used in several countries.  Rough Hewn  is h...

  "Yetaal! Yetaal! Yetaal!" the Lasati soldiers cheered. When the Lasati troops were forced to retreat from the Bassban shore, they were disheartened. It seemed that they had lost. So, when Lord Yetaal announced that they had taken more than a hundred prisoners, and lost none of their own, their despair had turned into celebration and admiration for their leader. Yetaal hated all this attention. For him the win was nothing more than an expression of his gratitude towards Nahuja Duja, the man who had freed him from slavery. Yetaal was born weak, was abandoned as a baby, and was raised by a cruel slaver. Lasatis believed that the life of a person depends on the mood the creator was in while creating the person, and it was clear that the creator was in a wicked mood while creating Yetaal. The creator gave Yetaal a childhood full of misery, but the creator also gave Yetaal sharp intellect that he could use to find his way out of the misery. Yetaal had used his intellect well. Whe...