March 24th, 1656
Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, Vijayanagara State, Port of Mangalore
The first Bheema-class merchant ship carrying the new citizens of the Bharatiya Empire who originated from Baluchistan had reached the port of Mangalore within 48 hours.
*Gong*
The loud bell in the port rang, signifying the arrival of the Bheema-class armed merchant ship.
The people at the port momentarily stopped their work and stared in awe at the massive 1000-tonne ship that had just docked. The sight of this colossal vessel left an unforgettable impression on their minds due to its sheer size.
Although the people at Mangalore Port had first seen the ship a month ago when it was built, tested, and dispatched from the same port, seeing it again was still a novel experience for them.
With the docking of the ship, a nice-looking carpet was immediately spread on the floor, and a local political leader, who had now become a cadre in the military-economic system, arrived. Along with him, hundreds of citizens of Mangalore came to welcome the migrants from Baluchistan.
"Listen, all of you, this is the order from the superiors. The people coming now are the first batch of migrants from Baluchistan who are going to settle in the empire. So, being the first batch, we have to show them our hospitality. If I see anything else in your eyes, I will immediately have you arrested under the 15th Penal Code of caste discrimination."
The political cadre, with an evil smile, laughed as he explained, but the people around him did not share his jovial mood. They knew they had just been threatened but refrained from refuting, remaining silent and humbly accepting the orders.
The political officer ignored their convulsing faces and immediately turned his attention to the first person disembarking from the ship, exclaiming,
"Oh, here they come."
"Welcome, brothers, to the Empire."
---
Inside the cabin, both Matheen and Masthan eagerly anticipated disembarking from the ship. Naveen Ambani, sitting next to them, was no exception; he, too, was keen to set foot on land. Although he held a very high position in Balochistan, he had never travelled to the main cities of the empire, having remained in Balochistan since his career began.
Fortunately, his circumstances differed from his son’s as his son could travel around the empire freely seeing and experiencing more things than he did. As for how did he know that?
it was because Naveen maintained frequent contact with his son, thanks to the special privileges he obtained after the Arkha Drishti communication channel was established, allowing him to communicate with his son more frequently, and for free, four times a week. So, he knew his son’s achievements very well.
Like himself, his son worked very hard and did exceptionally well in Gujarat as an assistant to the head contractor, eventually becoming a contractor himself.
Although he had not yet earned the right to have his own publicly funded company, his position was already very high in Gujarat, where the competition was more intense. Hence, with what power he had, he transferred his house address to Vijayanagar in order to help Naveen in the establishment of the company. As for Naveen, he was a special case.
Because of his theory that scenic spots could improve the economy, he unknowingly accumulated a lot of merit points. Thus, his path to becoming a business owner with government support had become far easier than for others who relied solely on road construction contracts.
*Ding!*
It was finally their turn, and they were the last to get off the ship. Matheen and Masthan moved, while Naveen Ambani followed closely behind.
*Flash*
The blinding light of the morning sun hit their eyes, making them momentarily blind. However, as they recovered, both Matheen and Masthan were shocked as they stood there, not knowing what to do.
There were hundreds of people wearing beautiful and gorgeous clothes, smiling and welcoming them with constant claps. There was even a big fat man holding a flower garland.
"What the **** is happening"
They tried to understand but to no avail. No one answered. This treatment was just too much for them, and they did not know what to do at this critical moment. They were firmly stuck standing in the same place.
Naveen was confused as to why the boys did not move, so he shifted his position and prepared to ask them to move forward. However, when he inadvertently looked at the crowd, even the experienced Naveen was taken aback. He did not know such ceremonies were held for their arrival. But, seeing his son among the crowd welcoming them home, he quickly recovered, smiled, and waved at them.
"Hey, you guys, let’s move. You know the empire treats you well; you don’t have to be surprised."
Matheen and Masthan were both shaken awake by Naveen. Embarrassed for holding up the line, they quickly picked up their luggage and moved forward. They hesitantly stepped onto the carpet, even though they would have felt much more at ease on solid ground.
"Ha ha ha, welcome to the empire! Bharat welcomes you," the fat man, who appeared to be some sort of official, laughed as he adorned them with flower garlands.
"T-Thank... Y-You."
"Also, please take this. This is a small help from the local government. It will help you get to your residence without much trouble."
Matheen and Masthan did not fully understand what they held, but they clutched what appeared to be tickets firmly in their hands as they moved forward. As they proceeded, people congratulated them and wished them good luck in their new life.
Both Matheen and Masthan were flattered. They had never experienced such a thing and were overwhelmed. Fortunately, all the bizarreness did not last long as they quickly left the place, went into the city to buy some necessities, and then quickly went to their plot of land to feel at ease.
Naveen Ambani received the same treatment, but he was much more accepting. He even did a namaskar to the local political officer and took his contact information. He then left with his son and wife, as he had much to do.
---
In the city of Mangaluru, Matheen and Masthan were walking along the road, mesmerized by the scenes in front of them. They found the city of Gwadar to be a huge culture shock, but looking at the various novelties around them, their brains struggled to process it all. everything had become numb.
The roads were neat, the people were clean, and tall buildings were everywhere. Looking around, the shops were luxurious, and the traffic on the road was bustling with activity, with oxen and elephants pulling different kinds of loads. They even saw someone who controlled the traffic whenever necessary.
These were all things they had never seen before.
They had already bought their supplies in the city, which surprisingly were very cheap, considering they expected them to be a little costly in such a big city.
After travelling around for a whole day, the novelty began to wear off, and they began to accept the things around them.
Matheen had a weird expression on his face as he voiced out, "Brother, wait for me here. Let me go and relieve myself."
Masthan did not care. He waited on the street, holding the bags and looking at the luxurious carriage that passed by with a hint of jealousy in his eyes.
"Hey, you! stop there!"
Suddenly, a man on the street shouted after seeing what Matheen was about to do.
Matheen was startled. He quickly adjusted his clothes, stepped forward, assumed a humble posture, and asked, "I’m sorry, sir. I was just trying to relieve myself."
Masthan also bowed down a little, not willing to offend the clearly influential man judging from his high-end clothes.
The man who stopped them frowned after seeing their humble posture. He immediately concluded that these teenagers were not from the city, knowing that no one born in the city would bow so low to anyone. Assessing the dressing style of the two teenagers in front of him and being familiar with official circles, he quickly understood they were from Balochistan.
Then, aware of the situation in Balochistan, he put away his frowning expression, chuckled, and explained,
"Haha, don’t worry. If you relieve yourself openly on street corners it may incur a large fine. But since you guys are from Baluchistan and it’s your first offence, you don’t need to worry."
Matheen and Masthan let out a sigh of relief, but the man continued,
"You can find bathrooms on every street corner. Look for the sign with a symbol of a man and a woman; you can use those facilities at no cost, understood?"
Matheen and Masthan looked at each other and quickly nodded their heads. "We understand, sir. Thank you for your guidance."
---
Matheen and Masthan quickly found a bathroom, and as the man said it wasn’t hard to find; it was in the same position on every street, at the rightmost corner of the intersection.
Matheen happily went into the bathroom, relieved himself, and came back.
"Brother, it’s so clean inside," Matheen said
Hearing this, Masthan had a thoughtful look on his face as he nodded.
A man, overhearing their conversation, happily chimed in, "Isn’t it? cleanliness is linked to health, That’s why the concept of clean surroundings is being promoted throughout the empire. You see the roads over there." The man pointed.
When both of them looked over, they were confused since it was the same road they had seen since morning.
"Have you ever wondered why the road is so clean even though so many oxen, horses, and elephants travel throughout the day?"
This immediately caught them by surprise as they had never considered this detail before. But thinking about it now, yes, these animals produce a lot of waste, and they defecate openly. Who would want to attend to these animals in a bathroom?
"Hehe, let me tell you, a law was passed a few months ago by the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Health together called the ’Transport Animals Responsibility Law’. According to the law, Defecation bags should be tied to animals to avoid open defecation or the owner would be fined a large amount of money."
This shocked the Balochi boys. They had never imagined that the drive for cleanliness was so intense in the empire.
As if reading their thoughts, the man explained, "Well, with the advent of the microscope, the causes of many diseases have been discovered, and most, if not all, diseases are somewhat directly or indirectly related to an unclean environment. So, the citizens of the city take cleanliness very seriously. It’s best to adopt these standards if you don’t want to be looked down upon."
Masthan and Matheen were both enlightened, thanked the man for the information, bid farewell, and left for their destination.
---
Arriving at the transit station they had inquired about, Masthan and Matheen approached an officer and asked, "Sir, we need to get to this place. Could you please help us find which carriage we should take?"
The officer quickly took the paper and, after reading the details, informed them, "Well, little brothers, you should take carriage number 12 over there. It goes to Sringeri, which is your destination."
"Thank you, sir," they replied.
Masthan and Matheen then approached the driver and asked, "Sir, is this the carriage that goes to this place?" They handed over the letter once more.
"Hmm, let me see. Oh yes, it is," the driver confirmed.
They were relieved but then remembered the gift given by the political officer when they had just arrived in the empire. They quickly pulled it out and showed it to the driver.
"Sir, can you see if this ticket is useful?"
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The driver looked over and was surprised to find that it was a transportation pass enabling travel throughout the state.
"You both are very lucky. This pass can indeed help you get where you want and you can even travel the whole state this week, so make good use of it."
Both of them were shocked as they had not expected that the piece of paper in their hands held so much value. They tightly grasped it and thanked the driver once more.
---
The 60-kilometer journey did not take long, as the road network had been developed, and within 24 hours, they arrived in Sringeri.
Upon disembarking, they immediately noticed that Sringeri was different from Mangaluru. Unlike the bustling economic environment there, Sringeri was more culturally developed, with refined people who also seemed to give them more unkind gazes.
Moreover, the atmosphere was notably more military, with many people wearing military uniforms hurrying about and discussing various matters. Although they knew the Empire was at war, they hadn’t expected the preparations to be so serious.
They quickly walked 4 kilometres south, reaching the village called Hosamannae, where their plot of land was located.
Immediately upon arriving at the village Panchayat and inquiring from the locals, they were shown the way to their plot of land.
After looking at the plot of land they had acquired, Masthan and Matheen could tell from their appearance alone that the land was very fertile since they could see grass and shrubs covering much of it. Additionally, there was a small stream flowing right next to the farmland, along with a small water wheel for water supply.
"You guys are very lucky. This plot of land used to belong to a local noble but was confiscated for a period and is now yours. It’s in close proximity to the village reservoir and also to the river Tunga; the stream you see here is one of its tributaries. The land is also very fertile here, so you guys hit the jackpot."
The man who came to show them the land was surprised by these guys’ luck and informed them.
Honestly, if he could, he would love to acquire the land for himself, even though he was already a landlord in his own right. However, since this land was under government control, there was nothing he could do but give up.
"Well, if there’s nothing else, I will leave. Good luck to you boys," he said.
After that day, Masthan and Matheen quickly got to work. They asked around for as much information as possible and stayed in an inn for a few days while simultaneously constructing a small cabin on their plot of land.
Within two days of completing the cabin, they rented an ox and a plough through the panchayat and immediately started ploughing the fields. Initially inexperienced with using cattle for ploughing, they quickly got the hang of it with the help of villagers.
After finishing the ploughing and sowing, both Masthan and Matheen sat together and discussed how to become wealthy.
---
As for Naveen Ambani, after gathering enough information since his arrival, he immediately contacted the political cadre he had met, as well as the naval officer, and asked for their opinions on him opening a naval transport company.
Both of them were very supportive of his venture, and leveraging their knowledge, Naveen Ambani purchased a small shack on the shore of the Arabian Sea in a coastal village not too far from Mangalore. He converted the shack into a dock for the ship and started Reliance Shipping Company.
Originally, he hadn’t planned on choosing this name, as he had preferred Ambani Shipping. However, since that name wasn’t allowed for some odd reason, "Reliance Shipping" was suggested and Naveen liked it enough to agree.
As for Vijay, he had nothing to do with it, really, please believe him.
Readers "..."