Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

25th July 1657

Akhand Bharatiya Empire, Imperial Capital-Bengaluru, Shaurya Royal Palace

"Appa, catch!" Agni threw a wooden ball with all his strength towards his father, who was playing with him.

Vijay, catching the ball, was very happy to see Agni giggling loudly and slowly walking towards him.

Agni is now one year and two months old, and his growth continues to surprise Vijay. Agni’s mental and physical abilities resemble those of a two-year-old child, as Agni can now recognize more than 50 words and can also walk at a steady pace. More surprisingly, Agni has started to use utensils more effectively, as the amount of food he drops has been reduced.

Kavya, who was watching the father and son play from a distance, couldn’t help but have a contented expression on her face. Her current life has been the most fulfilling she could ever wish for, and she hopes and prays constantly for it to continue as it is.

"Giggle giggle."

"Appa, lose."

"Giggle."

Seeing Vijay dropping the ball, Agni couldn’t help but make fun of his father.

Vijay, looking at the innocent face of his son, couldn’t help but feel a warm current surging throughout his body. However, his face was soon mixed with worry.

Noticing the rapid development of Agni, Vijay wanted to start educating him early on. Due to his special development process, Vijay chose to educate Agni according to his brain and body development level.

He decided to use methods suitable for a two-year-old, starting with puzzles, basic counting, identifying shapes and colours, language development through conversation, playing small games and other things. However, since he could not educate his son himself, as he would be busy with the affairs of the empire, he had to find a teacher.

This was not the worrying part, as he was confident that he could find a teacher loyal to the royal family who would accept his teaching methods. But suddenly, Vijay received a request from Tukaram to teach the prince himself.

Tukaram had helped Vijay a lot with his spiritual and mental problems throughout his journey as an emperor, and now that Tukaram had asked for something, Vijay naturally couldn’t deny him and accepted the request.

Vijay was only worried that Tukaram’s teaching methods would be too old school and that he would focus on teaching Agni the Vedic scriptures, Puranas, and other things like the ancient gurus in their Gurukuls and ignore all the practical skills needed for a leader.

"Hopefully, Saint Tukaram will accept my suggestion," Vijay’s face was filled with worry as he stroked the books he had prepared for his son’s education. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

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"Have you been well, Vijay?"

A sudden voice of an old man was heard reverberating through the hallway.

Vijay, looking at the grey-haired old man who greeted him, couldn’t help but be taken aback. It was Tukaram, and surprisingly, he suddenly looked much older than Vijay remembered.

Although Vijay could see the vibrant spirit in those eyes, the decay of the body couldn’t be hidden from him; he was more sensitive than anyone else.

"Saint, please come in," Vijay proceeded to invite the man first, not wanting to come off as disrespectful.

Agni, who had been happily chasing the ball at the side of the hall with a wooden bat, suddenly seemed to notice something and turned his little head towards the old man, who had a bright light glowing all over his body.

"Shami," (Swami/god)

Agni brought his hands together with an innocent smile to do a little namaskara.

Looking at their son’s actions, Vijay was extremely surprised, and Kavya was completely stunned.

It was Kavya who had recently started taking Agni along to her routine poojas that she performed daily, so she had taught Agni to do namaskar to the gods when she did the pooja.

Ever since then, she had noticed that Agni wouldn’t do namaskar for anyone except when he was in the pooja room. Now, what was the reason for him to do a namaskar for Tukaram, whom he had never seen?

Vijay, who naturally knew this trait of Agni, recovered from his confusion and began to think, "Does Agni have some special ability like I do?" His speculation was not entirely impossible; because of his brain Mutation, his genes could also have been changed, which might explain the difficulty of conceiving Agni.

So, it might be possible that some talent related to sensing things is present, and maybe his current action is a preliminary manifestation of that talent.

Tukaram, looking at the young prince doing namaskar to him, couldn’t help but soften his gaze.

"Come here, son," Tukaram gestured for Agni to come forward.

Vijay and Kavya were curious whether Agni would follow the instructions, so they both stayed silent, not interrupting him in any way.

Agni felt like the old man was calling him, so he naturally stepped forward and moved slowly towards the shining old man.

Agni didn’t understand anything, but he could feel that the light from the old man was similar to the light on the idol he felt when doing the pooja. Naturally, he thought this old man was the god his mother talked about.

Agni couldn’t be mistaken because, although he could not think logically, he knew the difference between the light his father produced, which was a strong shade of saffron, giving him a comforting and secure feeling, and his mother’s colour, which was blue, making him feel very comfortable and happy to be with her.

In this way, he could feel the colours of different people; some he liked, and some he did not. The favourite colour of Agni, except for the gods, his father’s, and his mother’s, was that of the kind old man he hadn’t seen for a long time. Although he could not remember the old man’s face too well, he missed the light of that old man, which was golden and warm like the sun.

Tukaram, looking at the amber eyes that had no impurities and were blazing like the sun, couldn’t help but feel amazed.

"You have given me one last task, ha, Vitthala," Tukaram could not help but lament, as the thing he most longed for now was to become one with his deity, Pandurang Vitthala, the incarnation of Sri Maha Vishnu.

"However, Lord, I think I can wait for a few years until I guide this firebearer’s child in the right direction." There was a hint of doting in his eyes, similar to a grandparent’s love for their grandchild.

Kavya, noticing the saint’s expression, couldn’t help but let go of her worries because her only requirement for Agni’s teacher, unlike Vijay, was to treat her son kindly and not teach him bad things. As for whether they would teach him Vedic knowledge or scientific knowledge, she did not care.

Vijay, on the other hand, was unsurprisingly not too happy because he did not want his son to be spoiled too much, like the arrogant rich second generation he had seen in his previous life. However, he obviously seemed to have no say in the matter.

"Do you want to learn my knowledge, child?" There was a kind expression on Tukaram’s face as he delicately stroked Agni’s head.

Agni could not understand what the man asked; the words were not in his database, so he asked something he would normally ask in the pooja room.

"Appa, Amma happy?"

Listening to her son’s words, Kavya immediately burst into tears, while Vijay was deeply touched, they both realised what Agni’s wish was .

Tukaram let out a hearty laugh until he was coughing a little. "Haha, yes! If you learn under me, your Appa and Amma will be happy."

Vijay, hearing these words, immediately wanted to scream, "I am not happy! Don’t make your own claims, Saint!" However, unfortunately, he could only keep those words deep in his heart and never let them out.

Agni, who heard the familiar words "Happy" "Appa" and "Amma," immediately nodded with a smile.

Vijay couldn’t help but rub his eyes, as he felt like, for a split moment, he saw the Saint reveal his foxtail. "Hey, is this Saint being mischievous like his lord Shri Krishna? God! How could an old man deceive a baby? How shameless," Vijay added more things to his "cannot let it out but have to deeply bury it in the heart" list.

In the end, Vijay could do nothing but let out a wry smile.

Tukaram, having gained the disciple he wished for, seemed to be in a very good mood. However his expression suddenly changed, He seemed to remember that the disciple of his had a father, so he turned his attention to Vijay. With a kind smile on his face, he asked, "Little Agni seems to want to be my disciple, Vijay. You have no objections, do you?"

Vijay couldn’t help but curse some more in his heart, but outwardly he had a smile on his face, "Ayyo, what objection would I have? Agni having you as a master is his greatest fortune, accumulated in nine lifetimes."

"Haha, it’s good then. I will take my leave. You can send little Agni to my residence four times a week," Tukaram spoke, looking through the Vedic Panchanga (Calendar ).

Vijay agreed to the condition, as Tukaram, after coming to the capital to bless him at the Empire establishment ceremony, had decided to settle down in the Banasankari Temple of the capital. So Vijay would not have to worry about Agni’s safety. However, as the saint was about to get up, Vijay couldn’t help but stop him. "Just a moment, Saint," he said, with determination on his face.

Even though it might seem offensive, this matter concerned the future of his son, and he had to risk offending Tukaram.

Tukaram relaxed his body and curiously stared at Vijay, his expression saying, "What is it, little boy?"

To be Continued...