Shon Mehta

A long time ago, there was a village near Vanpore , the capital of Yashantika. Like in any other village in Yashantika, all land in the village was owned by the Grahvars, the class of highborn landlords. It had been so for generations. Not only did the Grahvars own the land, they also owned the Cetas who worked on the land. The Cetas worked on the farms, cleaned the houses, and did whatever they were told to do. The Cetas rose early and worked till midnight. They did so every day of their lives, and when they could no longer work they were simply thrown off the land. For the Grahvars, this was not cruelty. They believed that Sarvabhu, the God of Gods, had arranged the world this way -- the Grahvars were born to rule while the Cetas were born to serve -- and what had been decided by God could not be questioned by men. Then came the Unification of Jivavarta, and with it a revolution. The old religion of Tapasi was replaced by the new faith of Ajabuhi. This new faith declared that the Cet...

A long time ago, in the Jivavarta mainland, a man escaped the ravages of an ongoing war and settled with his family deep inside a forest. Although he escaped humans, he could not escape the birds. When he grew his first crop, birds descended on his fields and started eating his crop. Enraged to his limits, he cursed at them, he shooed them away -- but the birds did not listen. They ate his entire crop. He sowed the crop again, but this time he was ready. As soon as a first bird descended, he killed it. It felt nice, he had finally done something. Birds did not stop coming, but he made a habit of killing a bird whenever he saw one eating his crop. After a few years, he killed them even when they were not eating his crop. He killed them merely because he had now become used to killing them. Every time he killed a bird, he buried its body in a corner of his field and put a gravestone alongside. On the gravestone he carved a little picture of him strangling the bird, a symbol of his victor...

  "Five Villains. Five Philosophies. One Truth: Survival writes the story." In Jivavarta, villainy is shaped not only by perspective but also by conviction taken too far. In that space between belief and consequence,  The Timingila  forces readers to confront an unsettling possibility: under the right circumstances, anyone could become the hero of their own darkness. In Jivavarta, there is no clear good and no pure evil. There are only people moving through their own truths, defending themselves against an unjust world, each trying, in their own way, to justify their right to exist. And perhaps that is all any of us ever does. "Maybe I am villain in your story, but I am hero in mine."  — Tasvak,  The Timingila.  The Whale-Eater. Predator of Predators. Stories Of Jivavarta  By Shon Mehta ——— Jivavarta is a narrative-based systems philosophy: a fictional civilization and analytical framework developed by Shon Mehta that integrates stories, axioms, lexi...

Once, in the ancient land of Jivavarta, there was a small village. For ten years, the Imperial Officer governing the village took half of every harvest and locked away anyone who refused.  Over time, the people had enough. One evening, they gathered their weapons and stormed the fort. The officer fled into the night. That night, the village celebrated till dawn. For the first time in years, they slept believing they were free. Two weeks later, another officer arrived from the capital city of Vanpore. He did not come alone; he brought fifty men in heavy armor. To feed them, he immediately demanded two-thirds of the harvest. Soon, a gallows was raised in the market square. "But I thought we had won," whispered one of the younger villagers, staring at the fresh timber of the gallows. An old elder nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on the noose. "We took revenge," the elder replied. “But We mistook it for change.  Anger rarely lacks a target. It usually lacks a solution....

The Jivavarta Lexicon A Lexicon of Philosophy, Literature, and Human Behaviour The Jivavarta Lexicon is a curated collection of literary, philosophical, and psychological concepts originating from the Jivavarta Universe. Filter or search below to explore recurring patterns in human behaviour through the literature of Jivavarta. All Concepts / Types Philosophical concepts Psychological concepts Literary concepts Proper Nouns A Tale of a Fairytale Literary-philosophical concept Definition The act of outliving a fantasy to build a reality. Origin Stories of Jivavarta: A Tale of a Fairytale Biting Dog Literary concept Definition That which is provoked, then blamed. Origin Microfables of Jivavarta: Biting Dog Crossroads of Vakshi Noun ·...

Zukula woke up and yawned silently. As he opened his eyes, he saw his wife, Jalaja, preparing for his trip to the Vanpore market. She had already taken out the morning catch of fresh fish from the small fish pond in front of their hut. "Get up," said Jalaja. "You are already late for the weekend market." Zukula got up unwillingly. He hated going to Vanpore, but it was necessary. Vanpore had the biggest weekend market around, and his fish fetched a much better price there than in his tribal settlement. He hurriedly ate his breakfast, changed into his best clothes, and started towards Vanpore with his basket of fish. When Zukula reached the market, it was already afternoon, and the other sellers from his settlement were preparing to leave. "You are late, Zukula," said a fellow Vidari. "Now, you will not get a good price for your fish. I have already sold mine. The highborn who bought my fish was foul-mouthed, but he gave me a good price." "All...