Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Rajeev came to test his moving picture machine once again, for the second time in a month, but this time he was much more nervous. He knew that it was a make-or-break moment. If something went wrong now, then he could kiss his hopes and dreams goodbye, get ready to be scolded by his wife for a few months, and give her ammunition for anything he did in the future, because if he really failed even after investing so much, then he could never live it down.

As Rajeev arrived at the workshop, he could see that Purushottam had a bright smile on his face. 'Well, it looks like it is not too bad,' he thought.

If Purushottam was this happy, then it means the moving picture machine is really working.

When he laid his eyes on the machine after Purushottam took him to the storeroom, he was pleasantly surprised; it looked completely different from before.

The pedal of the bicycle that was sticking out on its side was no longer visible; instead, it was replaced by a handle that looked to be purpose-built for this machine. And not only that, the machine had been painted as well, in a luxurious yellow with saffron motifs and leaf patterns all over its body. Additionally, he could see that the stand had been overhauled as well. Before, it looked like a sturdy yet unappealing stand, something that resembled a prototype, but now, with it completely painted black, it looked fresh and ready.

And these were only changes externally; he was excited to see what had been done under the box.

"Let's take this outside yeah?"

Purushottam nodded and went to give Rajeev a hand.

Setting it on the footpath, Rajeev and Purushottam admired the machine after placing it under the morning sun.

"If this machine is sold for a good price, when we make the next machine, let's make the box and the stand modular."

"Agreed."

Rajeev went forward with careful steps and placed his eyes against the eyepiece. He had wanted to see what the internals were like, but he was feeling restless, so he went directly to the final step.

"Brother, the lamp has not been lit yet."

Rajeev was immediately embarrassed and stepped back.

He saw Purushottam open the latch from the side, which was never present before, and took out a copper lamp, which was fixed from what he could see, using a clamp against the wall.

It looks like a tile had been fitted in the inner wall as well. 'Is this for the heat?' He nodded in understanding.

Suddenly, he realised something, there was no hole or gap anywhere apart from the eyepiece in the box for the exhaust to go out.

His heart momentarily beat rapidly, because if he had not noticed the problem, then there was a chance that the box would have burnt down; thankfully, he realised quickly, and the problem was not too difficult to solve.

He mentioned the problem to Purushottam, and he smacked his head for forgetting such a small detail, so he quickly went into the workshop and came out with a drill bit, which he used to carefully hand drill a small hole at the back of the box for exhaust gases to go out, oh and a small tiny hole, one or two millimetres, at the bottom for air to come in if necessary.

The machine was assembled once again and ready to be tested. This time, however, his restlessness had eased. He had seen all the internals and every change that had been made, the tile, the clamp holding the lamp, the dampening material placed near the slide so it wouldn't strike the wood every time it moved, and, finally, the thick grease seeping from the bearings.

Taking a deep breath, he pressed his eyes to the eyepiece for the second time in an hour and began to crank the handle, which, he had to admit, Purushottam had made astonishingly smooth, almost butter-like.

In the next instant, the movie came to life. Bathed in the lamp's warm glow that gave the images a soft, golden hue, the pictures moved, more vivid and beautiful than ever. Since Rajeev already wants his story to bring happiness and joy through fantasy to the lives of the kids, the warm hue given by the lamp went like butter and bread.

It's so beautiful that his eyes couldn't help but tear up. He had done it. He had really done it. But he stopped himself from breaking down, because, still, he had only completed half of his journey. He still has to find a buyer, sell the machine, and see if anyone is interested in purchasing another one.

---

"You did what!"

The roar of Dhania was heard in the Singhaniya household.

Rajeev had already prepared for this. He could hide the matter of his taking a loan, but he was left with no other choice but to tell his wife the truth, in the hopes that now that everything is over, she would calm down.

After all, what choice did he have? The moving picture machine couldn't be left in the workshop. He would not feel secure. What is more, in order to sell it, he couldn't just go to the workshop every time he wanted to bring a customer.

And above all, if he is being completely honest, he wants his kutty to see what his father did for her as well.

The scolding continued until the neighbours were alerted and came over to enquire. Thankfully, Dhanya did stop scolding, but she sat on the corner of the wall, put her hands on her head, and started to cry bitterly, as if someone had died.

Rajeev was really exasperated. His wife was good at everything, but she is a person who doesn't have a long-term vision. She has a peasant mindset. So, unless he shows her that what he was doing could bring benefits, she wouldn't feel any better about him.

Knowing this truth, he simply gave up trying to comfort her or trying to convince her that it would work. The best thing he could do was to quickly sell the machine, get some money, and see if he could find some orders. Once the income of the house had achieved some stability, she would go back to being her usual self, he had fallen in love with.

As the evening came, his life brightened much more, because he got to show off his invention to his daughter. And when his daughter giggled happily like a princess and constantly clapped her hands, he felt all the sufferings and humiliation he had to bear were worth it.

---

The very next day, he freshened up, went to a temple, prayed devoutly to the gods, as well as promised the temple a donation of 501 varaha if his venture was successful, and left.

His first stop was the circus house he had talked to previously. They were quite interested in the machine he had claimed could play pictures as if they were real life.

Unfortunately, when he talked to the manager, he directly refused his solicitation after knowing that not only would the machine cost 20,000 varaha, but he would also have to go to Rajeev's house to see it work.

Rajeev was disheartened and left the circus house, but he realised the problem. He felt like the reason for rejection the manager of the circus house gave could become the reason for rejection at most places.

But still hoping for the best and not letting his hopes down, he continued to go to all the places that had shown interest before.

Sadly, none of them agreed, and the reason for rejection was as he expected: the investment was too much for a product that had not proved itself, and they were not willing to travel to his house to inspect the product.

He was devastated as he got home, but before he went in, he recollected his emotions so that his wife would not see his defeated look and become more unbearable.

The dinner was once again bland, like the dinner yesterday or the day before it, but he did not dare to complain. What if his wife started to recite her scriptures once again?

That evening, he had quite a surprise, because his daughter had actually brought her friends home, a whole 10 kids.

"Father, these guys want to see the movie as well. I told them if they wanted to see the movie, they would have to pay money. Quickly show them the movie," his daughter innocently asked.

Rajeev was taken aback. "Why did you tell them that it would cost money? You could have simply brought them over."

His daughter shook her head, her pigtails swaying. "No, father, I know Amma is unhappy that there is no money, so I asked them to bring money in order to see the pictures."

"Father, quickly show them."

Rajeev felt touched and also a little guilty. He had actually stooped so low that even his daughter had to work for the family. What sort of a guy was he? He was almost about to break down, but a glance at his daughter gave him some emotional support, so he controlled himself and put on a smile to welcome the kids in. He showed them the movie one by one, and he helped them handle in order to make sure that the kids did not spin it too fast or too slow.

For the next fifteen minutes, the whole room was filled with laughter and joy. Maybe it was contagious; his wife came to see what was up. Though she didn't see the movie, she did see the kids giving a varaha to her husband.

Rajeev did not miss the opportunity and quickly stuffed the 10 varaha into her hands. It was not much, but maybe it was enough to show proof that his machine worked.

The next day, he got up with more vigour and went to see different customers. Sadly, no one gave him a chance. He came back once again devastated, but that evening, the kids who had seen the movie came back, but this time bringing in more kids.

He suddenly got an idea. 'What if I simply open a shop inside my house? This moving picture is made for the kids anyway,' he thought, but he quickly shook his head. 'No, in order for that to be viable, I would have to increase the price of each viewing so that I can recoup my costs.' He was living in a middle-class area, no one could afford the price if he increased it, but he could not make a loss and destroy his hopes only to satisfy the neighbouring kids.

Despite how it looked, the machine still had an expiration date. The slides would wear and tear with continuous use.

Then he got another idea. Before, he was trying to sell the whole machine to places where entertainment was more prominent, but what if he simply sold the experience? That should be more acceptable, right?

He acted on the thought immediately. The next day, he did not try to sell the machine, but he simply asked for a permit from a drama house to run his business in their lobby.

In exchange, he would give 20% of his earnings to the drama house.

The drama theater owner was not very interested in it before, but when he heard that the man had come up with his own machine and a new form of entertainment that had never been seen, he felt like this gimmick would attract a lot of people, so he agreed.

"But I have a condition. You can't take money directly from the people."

"I will sell the tickets for your show. You can keep the tickets as proof of how many shows you have run. After taking 20% of my cut, I will return the money to you."

Rajeev frowned. He didn't like giving away the initiative, but when you are under someone else's roof, you have to follow their rules, so he accepted the condition, but he put forward his own conditions.

"The settlement has to be done every day, and all the terms offered for discussion should be written in the contract."

"Alright, deal."