Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

As soon as the Royal family’s carriage entered Parliament Road, a loud cheer was heard from the crowd moving into the event grounds. The people were constantly doing a namaskara towards the carriage in respect and reverence.

Inside the carriage, Vijay looked majestic and regal, wearing a silver sherwani with diamond and gold embroidery as he gestured towards his people in acknowledgment. This was the first time Vijay had worn this sherwani, as the specific shade of silver he was currently wearing had been impossible to manufacture just a few months ago.

The technology for dye production had not advanced to the point where any shade could be produced. However, with the chemical revolution he personally helped start, hundreds of new colors and thousands of innovations were emerging every month, which made the textile industry much more versatile all of a sudden.

Due to this, exports of textiles to Europe have also begun to pick up by geometric magnitudes.

Sitting next to Vijay, Kavya wore a beautiful violet-colored saree with white accents. She looked so stunning that Vijay, who had already gotten used to her beauty, couldn’t help but gaze at her every so often, mesmerized, while she looked off into the distance like a goddess in the mortal realm.

Naturally, little Agni was also in the carriage, now much taller and much smarter than a few months ago. Agni wore a red Bharatiya long shirt and a ready-made dhoti, an innovation of a clothing brand called ’Junior,’ which specializes in designer clothes for children under the age of 10.

Interestingly, this brand is a joint enterprise run by Shri and Shrimathi Boutique, and Latha Bhai Apparel, which is the second most profitable luxury clothing brand in the Bharatiya Empire, surpassed only by Shri and Shrimathi, which Kavya had established.

A premium clothing store exclusively for children under 10 was actually an idea conceived by Latha Bhai, who, from her experience, quickly recognized that affluent families wanted their children to stand out among their peers.

She initially set up the company and named it ’Junior’ by herself, without any involvement of the capital. However, when Kavya, a close friend of Latha Bhai, heard about the idea, she loved it.

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Inspired, Kavya resumed her career as a fashion designer and created a ready-made traditional dhoti that looked like a conventional dhoti but was significantly more convenient to wear, as it could be worn like pants.

With her design and some investment, Kavya approached Latha Bhai. Taking into consideration the legitimacy and fame that could be obtained from accepting the investment from the royal family, as well as the fact that she would be getting an excellent designer as a collaborator, Latha Bhai did not resist the investment.

After various negotiations between Bhaskaracharya, the general manager of the royal family’s assets, and Arjan Bakshi, who is both Latha Bhai’s father and the largest investor in her company, Latha Bhai Apparel, a deal was reached.

The royal family would hold 35% of the shares in the ’Junior’ apparel company in exchange for Kavya licensing her dhoti patent to both the Junior kids’ apparel company and Bakshi Textiles, along with a sum of 5,000 Varaha and a Raya Royal Bank credit line of 20,000 Varaha.

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"Dam Dam Dam Dam" The sound of the band was heard.

As the carriage came to a halt in a secured location within the event grounds, Vijay could already hear the screams and shouts from the crowd.

Little Agni who just got down, was immediately startled by the sound of the crowd, but feeling the joyous emotions that were being conveyed to his senses, he became excited all of a sudden.

Vijay suddenly felt a tug from his son, whose hand he was holding. Vijay couldn’t help but laugh in amusement, but naturally, he did not show it to Agni.

"Agni, calm down. The stadium won’t run away anywhere. Be more composed," Vijay said after holding back his smile.

Agni’s enthusiasm was immediately cut by half due to the stern warning from his father, but he did not misbehave and was still looking forward to watching all the events.

Vijay was satisfied with his son’s reaction. As a father, he naturally didn’t want to be harsh on his child, but he didn’t want to spoil him either. So, he had started to act more rigidly in how he treated Agni for the past few weeks, though he still occasionally was playful, as he also kept in mind the need to strike a balance between being his son’s friend and being his son’s father.

Kavya, who saw this scene, couldn’t help but shake her head slightly with a smile on her face. She naturally understood why Vijay was behaving this way, but she just did not approve of him being so strict with his son so soon. Agni wasn’t even two years old yet.

Even though she knew her son was a genius who was much smarter and stronger than anyone his age, she still did not like Vijay being so strict with little Agni.

Thankfully, though, since the matter had yet to reach a point where Vijay had to physically discipline Agni, Kavya had not directly gone against Vijay in how he treated his son.

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With the arrival of Vijay, the rituals to start the events were held. Vijay and Kavya were the ones who naturally took the lead in carrying out the event as the first couple of the empire and as the ideal representation of a Bharatiya family.

As one would expect, Agni was bored out of his wits and was constantly restless, as he couldn’t stay in one place. Fortunately, he hadn’t done anything too drastic since Vijay would occasionally give him a warning gaze.

The rituals ended fairly quickly, and the events of the day formally began.

The first game to kick off the event was actually not a typical sport but a board game that has been played in Bharat for many centuries, which is none other than Chaturanga or chess.

Chess had historically been a game played by tacticians and nobles, as its roles of play highly resembled a battlefield. However, Vijay, who wanted to make Chaturanga a much more global game like chess, updated the rules of the game, introducing various powers for the pawns and the element of time.

Overall, Vijay had advanced the game of chess by at least 200 years, with its rules being similar to those of the first national chess event held by the British in the mid-19th century.

This move by Vijay did annoy the traditional Chaturanga players, who didn’t like the new rules and play style of the game, which completely made it about the mathematical and analytical ability of a person.

However, it was also loved by the masses, who preferred board games, as the new Chaturanga struck a golden balance between playability and entertainment—two attributes most important for any board game.

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Vijay entered a large room where booths were built in which isolated matches were taking place between different state champions of the empire.

Vijay saw dozens of chess matches being conducted at the same time, and he couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction, but something caught his eye.

"Wait!"

"Is that a woman?" Vijay’s eyebrows were raised. No wonder he was surprised, after all, in a game that has been throughout its history, mostly dominated by men—even until the 21st century, It’s incredible to see a woman competing at the highest levels. That too in the 17th century no less.

Kavya’s attention was also caught by the lone girl who was playing a match against a thin teenager who looked to be sweating profusely.

Vijay and Kavya immediately went near the booth, where they saw the name board and immediately learned that the girl’s name was Shobha Reddy from the state of Kakathiya Puri, competing against Harikrishna from Gangapuri.

Looking at the board, Vijay was immediately taken aback; his eyes widened in disbelief. Kavya did not understand why Vijay had reacted so strongly, but Vijay couldn’t help it because Shobha actually used some advanced moves that he only saw fairly good players use in the 21st century.

Vijay actually saw Shobha use the fork tactic, where she set up her one piece in such a way that three pawns of Harikrishna were immediately lost, as he couldn’t defend himself against it. Not to mention Vijay, even Harikrishna and the referee who was noting the time were dumbfounded by this move, which they had never seen.

Harikrishna looked at the silent girl who appeared so innocent sitting opposite him, but he couldn’t help but feel that he was facing off against a monster.

He tried his best for the next 30 minutes to fight back, but unfortunately, panic had already set in, and he inevitably fumbled.

Shobha was like a supercomputer, calmly calculating everything under optimal conditions. "Check!" she said without emotion, like a grim reaper pronouncing the name of the dead.

Harikrishna let out a turbid breath of air as he looked at the chessboard with despair. He did not even try to escape, as he could see no other way.

"I concede!" he said shamefully, especially because he had lost to a girl.

"Clap, clap, clap, clap!"

Out of nowhere, a throng of claps erupted, startling both Shobha and Harikrishna. Looking around, they saw they were surrounded by many people, mostly players from other states. Among them was a majestic man looking at them with appreciation. Next to the man was the most beautiful woman they had ever seen, holding a cute child and laughing happily.

Harikrishna immediately recognized who the person was, as his father was actually a mayor in a township panchayat in westren Gangapuri, so he knew how His Majesty looked.

"Long live Your Majesty! Long live! Long live!" Harikrishna shouted loudly and immediately bowed down.

This startled all the kids who were congratulating the girl for displaying skills much more advanced than their own. They had no idea that the man was actually his majesty, the Emperor. The teenagers immediately took a few steps back and mirrored Harikrishna’s greeting.

Vijay simply gestured for them to get up and encouraged, "You are all excellent mental athletes of the Bharatiya Empire. You have all been through multiple rounds of trials and have emerged victorious from your own individual states. I’m sure everyone you care about is proud of you for what you have already achieved. "

"So don’t feel any mental pressure just because you are in the capital. Just do your best, no matter what the result. Coming to this point has already proved your worth. So do not worry about the psychological pressure you are bearing; just be yourself."

Vijay’s words were calm and reassuring. His voice felt like it had some magical power that made everyone calm down, including Shobha, who had gotten pretty nervous after realizing that His Majesty and Her Majesty had watched her match.

Kavya looking at Shobha, immediately put Agni on the ground and went forward to hug her.

"You did well. Although I’m not as good as you, I can tell that the moves you made were absolutely amazing. You made all of us women proud."

Shobha was immediately overwhelmed, as she could have never expected that a common girl from a commoner family, who was lucky enough to enter a university, would get such an opportunity—being hugged by the Empress of the empire, Kavya Devaraya, the hero in the hearts of many women.