THE OUTRAGED: TIMES OF STRIFE by ADITYA SUDARSHAN

‘It is time to stop wringing our hands… Before we are forcibly and finally overwhelmed, it is time to act.’ So declares Ahishor Frances, auteur film-maker-turned-cultural messiah, as he launches the ideological movement that sparks Times of Strife. Backed by a mysterious investor, Ahishor uses liberal ideas as never before, for the dismantling of traditional thought. Unsparing even of his own family, he labels the sexual harassers, the domestic tyrants and the secretly casteist among us, to the delight of his followers, the chagrin of his victims and the amusement of certain others. Also tearing apart her near and dear while racing towards her goal of spiritual mastery, is Maithili Krishna, once a young actress whom many desired, now a devotee of Sadhguru Narayanan, perhaps the country’s most sophisticated god-man. But Ahishor has Narayanan in his crosshairs, and has chosen his allies for the task. As the inevitable clash sets up, how many will come to grief in the frenzy of the times? And what can Sasha, the peacemaker, achieve? Moving between the streets of Versova and the private enclaves of New Delhi, Times of Ferment and Times of Strife, the two volumes comprising The Outraged, speak of the raging ideological wars of our day—and the wounded humanity at the heart of it all.