Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

3rd July 1657

Akhand Bhartiya Empire, Satavahana State, Economic Capital Mumbai

The port of Mumbai with all its splendour was busy as usual. Merchant ships of all sizes frequently visited the Mumbai port, transacting goods and shipping various supplies. Amid such a scene, a small merchant ship arrived at the port, looking inconspicuous.

John Brown, along with Ashwin Ambani, got down from this small merchant ship with some excitement in their eyes.

As soon as John Brown set foot on the dock, a plethora of sounds hit him, making him turn his attention to the surroundings.

John Brown was once again amazed by what he was seeing. ’Just how many more surprises can this nation bring me?’ he thought.

The atmosphere in Mumbai was completely different from that of Thiruvananthapuram. The most obvious difference between the two places was that Mumbai was much cleaner, and if he had to put it in words, it looked newer. John couldn’t even find dried leaves lying on the road; that’s how unusually clean the port was.

He had already been impressed by the cleanliness in Thiruvananthapuram, but Mumbai was on a completely different level. John Brown looked around to see if any policemen were there to maintain the cleanliness, but to his surprise, there weren’t any. He realized that the people here naturally avoided littering.

"How nice," John Brown couldn’t help but show his admiration. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Ashwin Ambani felt a sense of pride emanating from his heart.

"Isn’t it? However, let me tell you, Mumbai wasn’t always like this. When the major ports in the empire were first established, no one used to follow the cleanliness rules, and all sorts of garbage were lying around the roads with no one to care. But after His Majesty’s order, Minister Lokesh from the Ministry of Health took strict measures to enforce the standards.

To make people obey, even fines were imposed for littering."

John Brown was taken aback. "Isn’t it a bit too extreme? Didn’t the people resist?"

"Oh, of course, they did. But what could they do? After giving warning to those who resisted the rules, fines were doubled for repeat offenders. They were shamed in public and completely banned from entering any government job." Ashwin had a look of admiration.

"I have to say his majesties plans worked wonderfully, After these actions, people now actually carry their trash with them and dump it in the dustbins you see placed on every corner of the road. As a result, the streets of not only Mumbai but many major cities have become very clean and spotless."

John Brown couldn’t help but sigh after hearing about the measures taken. Even after all this, if the cleanliness still had not improved, he didn’t know what would. Then again, remembering the conditions of the special economic zone, he couldn’t help but realize the truth: "Maybe the reason why Thiruvananthapuram is much dirtier is because of the Europeans.

Maybe that’s why, in order to not seem unapproachable, the management of the special economic zone had been relaxed." John couldn’t help but feel a little sad at his own conclusion.

Moving through the crowd, John Brown, as if moving from one dilemma to another, noticed something unusual.

Though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, he seemed to be surrounded by people speaking a completely different language from the one spoken in Thiruvananthapuram, and even the dressing style was different.

"Ah, Ashwin," John Brown called with some hesitation.

Ashwin did not turn around as he was leading the way, but he replied, "What’s up?"

*Gulp*

"Ah, are we... are we in a different country?" There was a slight tremor in his voice. John suddenly thought, what if this Ashwin person was not who he said he was? John worried even more when he remembered mentioning to Ashwin that he would be buying multiple warships during their inquiry. What if this Ashwin fellow wanted to defraud him of all his money or, worse yet, kill him and take it?

John’s steps became slower as various chaotic ideas passed through his mind about how to escape and return to the Bharatiya Empire safely.

Just then, Ashwin turned around, his face looking extremely confused. "What are you talking about, John?"

John Brown immediately stopped and replied, "You see, the way these people dress is completely different from what I’ve seen in Thiruvananthapuram. Even though I do not know the Bharathi language, I can tell if people are speaking it or not, and I can tell that these people are not speaking the Bharathi language.

So, what else could the answer be if not that we are in another country?" His fists were clenched, ready to sprint back the moment Ashwin showed any sign of hostility.

However, Ashwin’s next action left John perplexed.

"Pahhhhhhahahhahah!"

’Why the hell is this guy laughing?’ John thought.

"Haha, you’re funny, John. You just said you want to do business in the Bharatiya Empire, yet you don’t even fully know about it. I must say, you’re not the meticulous type, are you?"

A slight blush appeared on John’s face at what Ashwin said.

"John, we are still in the Bhartiya Empire. The reason why the language and the clothing style are different is that we are in a different state. The special economic zone Thiruvananthapuram is in a state called Chara Nadu, and currently, we are in a state called Sathavahana."

"Each state has multiple languages, and people from different regions speak different languages. The reason you only heard the Bharathi language in Thiruvananthapuram was that it is a special economic zone focused on European exports, so naturally, the people working there speak only the Bharathi language.

You might not know, but the people working there are also from different parts of the empire and from different states. If they each spoke their own language, they might not be able to understand each other. Since they need to communicate and do not have any other common language, Bharathi is used. As for the dressing style, each place has its own style.

Don’t worry; didn’t you say you are going to stay in the Bharatiya Empire? You’ll get to learn all these things soon enough."

John Brown, hearing the truth, instead of feeling relieved, felt a little panicked. ’How can a nation with so many differences stand? Have I made a mistake in my judgment?’ He was horrified.

John Brown, like everyone else in Europe, believed that a country must be composed of people with similar values, beliefs, culture, and traditions for it to exist, or else the country would no longer exist. The greatest example of this was the ancient Roman Empire.

John felt as if he had boarded a sinking ship.

’Maybe I should have gone to the Americas after all.’ His heart was bitter, but he did not show it to Ashwin as he continued to walk forward.

John had already shipped all his wealth, around 16,250 ducats, from Ireland to Bharat, and there was no going back.

He was already unhappy that his total wealth of 22,000 ducats had been reduced by nearly 30%. Now, even though he knew that the Bharatiya Empire was not entirely reliable and safe, he still couldn’t bring himself to lose more and immigrate to the Americas again. He just couldn’t do it.

Furthermore, Even if he lost his mind and wanted to Immigrate, he didn’t have any connections here in Bharat. He couldn’t find anyone he could trust. So, the best option would be to get rid of his money and convert it into the foundation for his livelihood as quickly as possible.

’The Bharatiya Empire has been established only recently, so it should last for at least a few decades, right?’ John Brown thought, his expression as if he had given up all hope.

Many years in the future, when the shipping king John Brown wrote about his young Entrepreneurial days in his biography, he couldn’t help but remark on how naïve and wrong his assumptions had been, but that is a story for the future.

Ashwin Ambani, who was walking forward leading the way, had no clue that the seemingly mature white man behind him was currently having an existential crisis. Unfortunately, he would never know.

"Ah, John, look, our ride is here."

----

John has a big heart; he soon put his troubles behind him.

John, sitting inside the carriage and looking through the window, was mesmerized by the city of Mumbai. The city of Mumbai is a city built on an island, so it reminds him of his home quite a bit. But truth be told, his home in Ireland is not as lively as Mumbai.

He looked at the vibrant colors, clean and neat streets, orderly traffic, policemen at every corner, trees planted in the middle of the road, excellent drainage systems, ample space for pedestrians to casually stroll, and various shops that looked quite posh by his standards.

He was amazed by each and every small detail.

Ashwin who did’nt like silence asked, "So, John, what do you think about the ride so far? Has it been enjoyable?"

John turned his head with some reluctance and answered with a smile, "It has been a wonderful experience, and this carriage is quite luxurious. It’s very smooth throughout the ride; even large bumps are barely noticeable. Closing the curtains, if you had told me we were in a stationary room, I would have believed you."

Ashwin was proud in his heart. "That’s what I hoped too. Also, it’s no surprise that this carriage is so good; it was manufactured by His Majesty’s company, after all."

John was a little surprised. "Oh!"

"Yes, His Majesty’s company is called Raya Mobility. It was established a few years ago by His Majesty to create better vehicles. But after the war, the company was nationalized, and during the war, Raya Mobility expanded into a large-scale enterprise, becoming one of the enterprises providing carriages to the military.

So, this carriage is quite rare; you can only find it in the hands of a handful of enterprises in the empire."

John was not too interested in carriages; But he found the story interesting as Ashwin seemed to have inadvertently revealed some things about his family.

John did not want to know more about this topic that had nothing to do with him, so he diverted the conversation. "Ashwin, you haven’t told me where we are going."

Ashwin’s attention was successfully diverted as he knocked his head in annoyance.

"Oh, look at me, I even forgot to mention this. But in order to tell you where I’m taking you, you should first know some things."

Ashwin adjusted his posture and began, "As you know, my father is the director of a shipbuilding company called Reliance Shipping and Shipbuilding. It is one of the major shipyards in the empire."

"If you want to classify them, if the five major shipyards are the first echelon in the empire, then ours is in the second echelon. Along with our company, there are two other shipbuilding companies in the second echelon: Reddy Shipyard and Dharani Shipyard. The three of us are collectively known as the three minor shipyards in the empire."

"As you may already know, the top shipyards in the empire have resources to cooperate with design bureaus to design a new ship or to modify one. However, maintaining a design bureau is a very costly expense—so expensive that there are only three design bureaus responsible for shipbuilding in the empire.

One is the Boswell Design Bureau, the second is the Berunda Design Bureau, and the third is a newer one called the Molin Design Bureau."

"The last one mostly cooperates with the Shivaji Shipyard, but the point is that maintaining a design bureau is a very expensive endeavor. For that reason, we, being the minor shipyards, cannot maintain our own design bureau. At the same time, we do not want to be left too far behind in the world of shipbuilding."

"For that reason, under the direction of my father, Naveen Ambani, the three minor shipbuilders of Bharat have cooperated to establish the Southern United Marine Design Bureau." There was a hint of admiration in his words.

"So, this is the place we are currently heading to. It’s on the outskirts of Mumbai, so it won’t take long. The traffic seems to be not too harsh on us today; we should reach there in about 20 minutes."