Everyone, especially in today’s times, understands the importance of being healthy, but seldom do people focus on one of the most important, or rather the most important, as one believes, aspect of a healthy and happy life- mental health.
Despite the fact that mental health is increasingly becoming a part of common public and professional discourse in today’s world, there is no doubt that there is yet a long way to go, before mental health becomes a priority, mental illnesses are not laughed upon, and apt knowledge and awareness about mental issues are gained by the society on the whole.
It is crucial to fathom that if somebody washes their hands 3 times a day, it does not point towards ‘OCD’, and even if someone smiles and cracks jokes at a party, they could be depressed.
If you are someone who too reckons that mental health is an ocean of mysteries yet to be unraveled, then ‘Out of Madness’, by Rithwik Aryan, is something you should get your hands on.
A gripping psychological thriller that explores the struggles of loneliness and mental health in today’s society, ‘Out of Madness’ draws from Rithwik’s personal experiences of having spent one-and-a-half years inside two of India’s most dangerous mental asylums to fully immerse himself in the psychological depths required to craft this compelling story.
Mason Moron, a young psychology professor at Nalanda University, fakes his death and disappears after discovering that his wife has been cheating on him. His quest for reinvention leads him to a madman politician, Bahubali, who dreams of making the greatest porn movie ever. Together they plunge into a deep, dark world of carnal desire. But fate takes an insidious turn when they find themselves trapped in a mental asylum where the mesmerizing actress Ms Staci is battling her own demon.
As their bond deepens, Mason must decide if his obsession with the starlet is worth sacrificing his freedom and life for. Stuck at the intersection of madness, lust, and love, Mason must exorcise his inner demons even as Bahubali plots his twisted legacy.
Will they escape the clutches of insanity or find solace in madness?
In a world where the line between sanity and insanity is wafer-thin, and friendship and love are tested in the most surreal ways, Mason must confront his deepest desire, darkest fear, and the question whether he can ever truly be free.
Out of Madness is a wild, heart-pounding tale of grief, lust, and redemption where madness might just be the key to salvation.
Rithwik Aryan has the distinction of being one of the quickest dropouts of Harvard Extension School, Harvard University. He exited the hallowed institution within three months of starting his bachelor’s degree in psychology to pursue a career in writing.
It took him five years to meticulously craft his debut novel, Out of Madness, during which, one-and-a-half years, he spent inside two of India’s most dangerous mental asylums— The Central Institute of Psychiatry and The Agra Mental Asylum— to bring to bear the hyper realistic elements of the setting in the narrative.
In order to get an insight into how ‘Out of Madness’ took shape, and to get a hang of the most crucial aspect touched upon in the book- mental health, especially men’s mental health, Sonakshi Datta of GoaChronicle had a detailed conversation with Rithwik Aryan, and posed a few pertinent questions to the author.
‘Out of Madness’ author Rithwik Aryan
What made you spend 1.5 years inside of India’s two most dangerous mental asylums, as this is something not everyone could even imagine doing?
Very few fiction writers have had the chance to really live through the story they write about. Most fiction writing in today’s date is based on second hand account or secondary research. Otherwise, people end up writing non-fiction.
Both the asylums I was in- The Central Institute of Psychiatry in Ranchi and the Agra Mental Asylum- they are extremely picturesque places. CIP for instance- that is over 220 acres by area- a property built entirely in 1857. Inside, I met almost all kinds of people- psychopaths, serial killers, people who have axed their entire families, and people with multiple suicide attempts in the past.
I also met a few imposters who were probably inside just to avoid jail time after having committed a heinous crime. The place was picturesque with a white 1857 dating Dutch church, and long trails subdued by overgrowth of shrubs and mosses. I would loiter all day, absorbing the place and the madness- and it was a really stimulating experience, much bigger and broader than what could be imagined on paper. It was really a thrill putting all of that on paper.
What were the most colossal conclusions that you arrived at, after having been in these mental asylums?
That one has got to face his fears. It is not as scary as it seems. The thing you fear the most- it is right after you confront it that you would encounter the most beautiful side of life. So don’t be anxious. It is pure bliss on the other side.
Before I went inside the asylum, there was the encounter I had with the asylum. The fear I felt. The weightlessness taking over my stomach. This is when I was ten or probably eleven years old. I was visiting my grandmother in Ranchi. She is a very inspiring lady. She is 91 years old. And she meditates for over eight hours in a day. She has never gotten bed-ridden. Never had a severe disease. She does not even need housekeepers to take care of her apartment. She lives alone. And she lives quite perfectly. She is at terms with loneliness.
Anyways, so I was visiting Ranchi. And since it was summer break- I was in a constant wrestle (and fear)- of being bored to death at the house. I was begging my uncles and my other relatives to take me somewhere. Anywhere. ‘What will I tell my friends when they ask me what I did all summer?’, I thought.
So, they did take me. First to the Tagore Garden. It is a small hillock from where one could see the entire township of Ranchi. And then, to the Kanke Dam in the outskirts of Ranchi.
Once we were on the return, my father, myself, and my uncle- he abruptly stopped the car in the middle of the road and announced, ‘This on the left is the Ranchi Mental Asylum. All sorts of madmen live here.’
And boy I tell you. Mental asylum it was. With tall endless walls running in all four directions. Thick walls with multiple barbed wire protecting any escape. It was almost like a fortress. With guard-posts and watch lights and staunch gunmen standing with a double barrel shotgun and guarding the outer gate. My heart was almost collapsing in panic. It was a mental asylum. I remember getting so scared back then, that I probably did not eat food that night. I just slept soundly, peacefully, tucked right next to my father.
But then, the asylum remained to haunt me in my dreams. I was plagued by nightmares in which the mental asylum would appear to be this hell-hole of a structure built underground. Like some ancient city which is now submerged below the ground level. With wild uncontrollable men chained to walls. Crazy madmen who were either totally silent and expressionless, or otherwise violent men, who were starving for human flesh. (If you are still looking for a more accurate description- picture the Acute Ward in Leonardo di Caprio’s Shutter Island).
And imagine going there years down the line, only to figure out that it is one of the most beautiful places on earth.
What made you write ‘Out of Madness’, your debut novel?
I tend to sound a bit superstitious when I mention this, but I did not decide to write Out of Madness. There was no story or even a story idea that fleshed out in front of me. It was not something which had been there all along and all I had to do was to complete it. Like a guided hiking trip.
It was more about groping and trying to figure out an idea. Trying to figure out the answer to this question which had come to me very unexpectedly one day. ‘What if there’s a couple. This really ideal husband and wife. A power couple who the society idealizes. The lovers in question- they are intimate, loving and practically lost into each other’s existence. And then what will happen if say, the husband dies one day? Will the wife fall in love with somebody else? And if she does, then how much time would it take for her to do that? What is the process of letting go?’.
It might sound a bit amateur and immature now. And I was barely seventeen when I started this. But it took me six years to really figure out the answer to this question. That love never dies. Love is eternal. I think it was in pursuit of finding this answer that I ended up dropping out of college and spending 1.5 years in two different mental asylums of our country.
But I would still say this. I don’t know where the story came from. It was just pouring itself down. Moron faking his death. Bahubali and his erotic magnum opus. The mental asylum. The actress. The serial killers. The infinite layers. True art is about surrendering to your instinct. If the author stops coming in between of the story and the writing, then the writing will come out brilliantly.
Somebody told me that Michael Jackson had this approach towards making music.
What taboos and stigmas do you think affect men’s mental health most adversely? What could be done, as individuals, and as a community, to improve their mental health, and to create a safe space to communicate, share thoughts and ideas, and come up with solutions?
The truth about men’s mental health is rooted in a cruel irony—society tells men to ‘man up’ by suppressing their emotions, as if being vulnerable is a weakness. From childhood, boys are taught that expressing pain, sadness, or even joy in its raw form is unmanly. And as they grow older, this conditioning hardens into silence. Men are expected to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders without breaking a sweat. The result? They suffer in silence, often until it’s too late.
The most damaging stigma is this idea that men can’t be both strong and vulnerable. Men have been conditioned to believe that asking for help makes them less of a man. The tragic part is, it’s not just men who reinforce this—it’s society as a whole, including women.
What we need to do is to dismantle this deeply ingrained narrative. First, we need to normalise the idea that strength comes from self-awareness, not silence. We need to stop equating masculinity with stoicism.
As individuals, we can start small—check in on the men in your life. Encourage conversations about feelings without judgment or ridicule. As a community, we need to create platforms where men can open up freely, without the fear of being mocked or dismissed. It could be therapy groups, online forums, or even informal gatherings where men feel safe to share.
The solution isn’t complicated—it’s about creating a culture of empathy and understanding. Let men cry, let them talk, let them feel. Because strength isn’t about how much you can endure silently. It’s about facing your vulnerabilities head-on and finding the courage to speak up.
How do you think the toxic feminism of today’s times exacerbates the already poor condition of men’s rights and the communication that is needed to improve men’s lives?
It is a vicious cycle. Men want to win women’s validation by doing everything as per their definition of being ‘manly’. And women don’t usually have a problem if a man is going out of the way to suppress his vulnerability. Not in the very beginning of a platonic relationship. Its depicted everywhere- from films to books to even art films made by our film school students. And if we begin to get over-vulnerable and oversharing- that too leads to mayhem. A good result would come out when we get over the inequality and figure that men and women are much alike. We are human beings. There could be good human beings and there could be bad human beings. Figure out the category you belong to- and flock with those kinds of people.
We got to stop putting each other on the pedestal. Or if we are choosing to put somebody there- it should be our own selves. if you are in a toxic situation- prioritise your mental health. You ended up in a bad situation because you were prioritising something else. Do not do that. Your life may wind up in a downward spiral.
What makes ‘Out of Madness’, a must-read, especially for people who are suffering with psychological challenges out there?
Out of Madness is important because it holds up a mirror to the chaos, contradictions, and vulnerabilities that define us all. More than being a story—it is an exploration of how we navigate heartbreak, identity, and the fine line between sanity and madness.
Engaging with this book is like stepping into a world that is wild, unsettling, and deeply human—a world that reminds us that madness, in all its forms, is often just a pathway to understanding ourselves.
