Shon Mehta

"Maybe I am villain in your story, but I am hero in mine."The Timingila Attribution  Coin Image: https://www.cngcoins.com/ https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harshavardhana_Circa_AD_606-647.jpg#mw-jump-to-license

My novel is almost ready, and will be published soon. It took me about three months to write the story down, but the novel's characters have been in the back of my mind for longer than I remember — at least ten years.  Years ago, one of the characters (who I had labeled as a villain) spoke to me. "Maybe I am villain in your story, but I am hero in mine." That was interesting, and made me think deeper about this villain in my story. So many questions: Is he really the villain? Who are his friends? Who is his family? Is he the main character, or just an extra in this story? Then, a few other characters walked out from the shadows. I dreamed of these characters. I wanted to know them better. I wondered about the places they visited, the food they ate, their failures, their glories. I kept jotting it all down. So many notes, and so many quotes -- after a while, it all became rather chaotic. So, to make sense of all this madness, I started writing the novel. Now, as the no...

Once a bird came across a tall tree, the tallest he had ever seen. Looking up, he saw that the highest branch of the tree was laden with fruits. He noticed a lot of birds sitting on the lower branches, squawking continuously, but none on that branch. "What a bunch of losers! Instead of aiming high and relishing the ripe fruits, these birds are satisfied sitting on the lower branches." the bird thought to himself. The bird soared high, aiming for that branch. But, as he ascended, he was knocked down by other branches in the way. He landed on a branch below. The branch was full off cobwebs, and as he struggled, his feet got entangled. He couldn't fly. Other birds on the branch squawked louder. "How do you get off this branch? I am stuck here." asked the bird. The other birds stopped squawking. There was a silence. "What do you think we all are doing here? Do you really think we chose this branch?" Asked one of the birds. ...

Hari was an upright and honest man, and he expected others to be upright and honest as well. One day, someone stole his favorite shovel from his garden. He promptly went to the local police station, filed a complaint, and demanded swift action. He waited patiently for three months, but the police could not catch the thief. Deeply disappointed, Hari concluded that he was living among dishonest people.  He decided to move somewhere better—a place where thefts did not happen. He traveled from town to town, asking the same question at every police station. “How many thefts have been reported in the last year?” Some officers answered a hundred.  Others said fifty. Some said twenty. After several weeks of searching, Hari arrived at a small town and posed the same question. The officer smiled. “I have served here for almost ten years,” he said. “Nobody has ever reported a theft.” Hari was delighted.  At last, he thought, he had found an honest town. “A hundred men could li...

Once, there was a teacher. People from nearby villages visited the teacher to seek advice for their problems. The teacher and his students used to listen, ponder, and offer solutions -- the best they could. One of the students, who participated in many of these discussions, became impatient. "These people are so ignorant.” He used to shake his head, then cry out with frustration. "There is so much ignorance in the world!” His teacher noticed this. He  advised his student against his behavior of looking down on other people. But in vain. One day, the student and the teacher were on their daily stroll. They came across a large hall, and went in. It was evening, and the hall was dark inside. "There is so much darkness in here!" said the teacher. "Yes, there is." The student agreed. “Oh, there is so much darkness in here!” the teacher repeated, frustration in his voice. The student was confused. He looked at his teacher, and r...

One day, a pig dreamt about a mystic land behind the mountains, where there was lots of food, and eternal happiness. Enlightened with this knowledge, pig decided to move to that land. As he was making his plans, he saw an old tortoise. In sheer benevolence, as was his nature, he decided to ask the tortoise to accompany him on the journey. "I am going to the mystic land behind the mountains, where there is lots of food and eternal happiness. You should come with me.” The tortoise looked at the pig with amusement.  "There is no land behind the mountain, just a barren desert." said the tortoise. The pig was hurt. “I saw the land in my dreams. Don't you trust my dream?" asked the pig. “I would, but I know for sure that the land beyond the mountains is just a dry desert. I trust my knowledge.” said the tortoise. "Don't go there, its barren desert, with no food. You will die with hunger!...