The Anti Ramayana

"The Anti Ramayana" is a satirical novella that inverts the ancient Indian epic, portraying a dystopian modern India where the Kali Yuga manifests as a corrupt, inefficient legal system plagued by misuse of laws like Section 498A. The story follows fifteen men—engineers, businessmen, farmers, and others—from various Indian cities, who find themselves ensnared in false accusations of dowry harassment, domestic violence, and other crimes by their wives or in-laws. Trapped in a "grey maze" of bureaucratic apathy, extortionate bribes, and endless court battles that strip them of dignity, finances, and freedom, these logical, rational professionals are pushed to despair amid sensory assaults of stale police stations, flickering lights, and the stench of decay. Desperate for escape, the men encounter Gavi Shankara, a supernatural emissary with an otherworldly scent of burnt silicon and sulfur, who offers a radical solution: for $100,000 in cryptocurrency, his brother Ravana—the Demon King of Lanka—will abduct the accusers and relocate them to the Ashok vatika, effectively deleting the sources of their torment. Each chapter chronicles a man's ordeal, from discovering infidelity or greed to enduring jail time and humiliation, culminating in a dramatic, mythological intervention where storms, shadows, or divine vehicles enact the abductions. Lawyers and authorities, terrified by supernatural signs like brimstone smells or bruised skies, hastily drop cases, granting the men acquittals and peace. In the conclusion, the protagonists find solace in Lanka's jasmine-scented luxury, contrasting India's chaotic injustice with Ravana's efficient, transactional "justice." The novella critiques systemic failures and gender-biased laws through dark humor and irony, suggesting that in a flawed world, pragmatic villainy offers better resolution than righteous but broken heroism, leaving the men liberated in a paradoxical golden quiet.