27th July 1658
Early in the morning, before daybreak, the Kaveri Riverbank Industrial Zone has already co alive with a symphony of chanical sounds heard from one of the largest factories in the special zone, the Raya Printing Services. Monopolizing the fast flow of the river current, when all other factories are yet to start the work, the efficiency of printing is at an all-ti high.
From raw paper rolls to finished newspapers, it only takes a few minutes to manufacture, thanks to the existence of a dozen or so second-generation Gutenberg printing presses and first-generation Raya printing presses, which are exclusively used to print images onto the paper. Amidst the loud machinery, Kabir hta, the head of operations and distribution for Bharatham Daily newspaper, personally inspects the day’s product.
Kabir opens the newspaper and proceeds to check whether its typesetting is correct if there are any layout errors in the paper, or other small mistakes. Fortunately, as far as he can see, there is nothing wrong with it.
Kabir puts the newspaper back into the stack and moves over to inspect another batch.
This is the day-to-day job of Kabir, as inspecting the first batch of newspapers for any errors is sothing he normally does, But today is a special day for the only major newspaper company in the Empire, so he is extra careful and inspects five to six batches of newspapers back to back.
Due to the Aikyotsava festival events being reported in the newspaper, the head office of Bharatham Daily has received unprecedented demand for papers from people all over the Empire.
The demand is at such a level that even so city and town panchayats from the northern part of the Empire have requested era Nair, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper and the director of Raya dia Corporation, to send the newspaper through speed post. Such is the significance of the Aikyotsava event because everyone is eager and curious about the event that recruited the best athletes from all over the Empire. More importantly, the administrators of various cities, towns, and regions in the north are very curious about the results of their own athletes.
The printing continued, and the newspapers that had been printed were packed, ready to be shipped anyti. In the blink of an eye, it was daybreak.
By the ti the bookstores across the southern part of the Empire opened, era Nair had utilized all the logistical capabilities at her disposal to quickly transfer the printed newspapers from the warehouse in the Kaveri Riverbank Industrial Zone to the required destinations. As expected, there was a bumper sale of newspapers today. People who were unable to attend the event due to its exclusivity were very happy to buy the newspaper to learn what had happened. Even those who usually did not consu the newspaper made an exception and purchased it to find out about the interesting events that took place in the capital. Explore new worlds at empire
"Labourer to Champion: The Story of Raftaar Langove," a schoolteacher read aloud to his students as a source of motivation.
"He won both the 500 ters event and the 100 ters event—amazing!" a young boy, around the age of 13, said, looking at the newspaper his father had bought, staring at the image of Raftaar, who sat nonchalantly on a chair with his legs stretched out, with admiration and worship in his eyes.
"I wonder when my state could produce such a talent," Jaya Dwaj Singha couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.
"Would he be willing to join the Bharatiya Rangers? I wonder. We could use his speed," a captain in the Bharatiya Rangers muttered aloud with a hint of expectation in his tone.
"This Bharatiya sure is amazing," A white Italian rchant who is proficient in the Bharati language comnted, as Raftaar had already beco the talk of the town in Thiruvananthapuram, currently the window of Bharat to Europe.
Different people, different ethnicities, different backgrounds, and different nationalities—everyone had sothing to say about the Aikyotsava event and especially Raftaar, the star of the day.
Knowingly or unknowingly, Bharatham Daily had already beco a window to the world for the Bharatiyas.
---
The temporary stadium built on the parliant grounds had filled up once again as the second day of events officially started.
The announcer began to list the day’s events while the dignitaries arrived at their designated positions one by one, including Vijay, who had co with only Agni this ti, as Kavya had apparently found inspiration for her story after attending the first day of the Aikyotsava event.
"Ladies and gentlen, let briefly introduce today’s itinerary.
"We will start the second day with the finals of shot put and long jump.
"Following that will be the finals of the Bharat Mase throw and a strongman competition.
"After the lunch break, we’ll have the finals of archery and shooting.
"The last event of the day will be horse racing and Mallakhamba (gymnastics).
"I will announce each event’s na again 30 minutes before it starts, but please note down these events so you can schedule your ti according to your interests."
With that, under Vijay’s hopeful gaze and Agni’s curious eyes, the finals for shot put and long jump officially began.
---
In the anti:
7th Main Road, Bengaluru
Zafir and Raftaar followed Jayamma to officially open an account at Raya Royal Bank and receive their agreed compensation. Raftaar had covered his face with a cloth, as only a few minutes earlier, he had been surrounded by an excited crowd wanting to get close to him after seeing his picture in the newspaper. It had taken him a while to escape from the mob.
Apart from the small unexpected hiccup on the way, Raftaar was feeling very excited because, if he received the paynt according to the previously negotiated deal, he would receive 13,000 Varaha, which was more than half of what he had earned by winning the national championships in the 500-ter and 100-ter sprints—in a single day alone. And this wasn’t even the final amount he would receive, as his cooperation with Jayamma was still ongoing. Having agreed to endorse Jayamma Pickles and Co. and assist with her publicity efforts, he would receive another substantial sum soon.
Zafir, however, was feeling a bit uneasy. According to the agreent between him and his brother, he would earn 5% of whatever Raftaar earned, which put a lot of pressure on him. He constantly felt pressured for securing even better deals for his brother. Raftaar’s championship earnings aside, which Zafir felt he didn’t deserve a share of, from the 13,000 Varaha Raftaar would receive from the sponsorship alone 5% would yield him 650 Varaha.
That was a significant amount. Though 650 Varaha might not seem much, it equaled approximately 22.1 grams of gold (worth around 1,54,700 rupees in the 21st century), a sum comparable to what a middle-class family might earn in a month. And that 650 Varaha would be earned in a single day, with room for even more in the future.
Zafir Mohamd was not a greedy person, and his loyalty to his friend was unquestionable, so it was understandable why he felt conflicted about accepting the money. He constantly questioned whether he deserved it.
With this complex mix of emotions between Raftaar and Zafir, Jayamma finally entered the Raya Royal Bank within the Imperial Capital.
---
"Welco to the Raya Royal Bank."
The Baluchi boys were suddenly startled by the guard, who stood at the door, perford a *namaskara*, and welcod them. Ever since they had entered the mainland of Bharat, they had traveled with the entourage sent by the Chief Minister, so both Zafir and Raftaar hadn’t had much opportunity to explore the empire and were unsure how to react to this level of hospitality.
Fortunately, Jayamma was there to guide them inside.
Jayamma was in high spirits, having already seen today’s newspaper, which not only featured multiple photos of Raftaar, the star of the day after winning both of his races, but also prominently displayed her company’s logo on Raftaar’s jersey.
Additionally, Jayamma was sowhat taken aback when the newspaper included a report on her decision to sponsor Raftaar as a ans to advertise her company, garnering considerable praise from the editor.
Jayamma once again realized the trendous value she had gained by sponsoring Raftaar. Although the *Bharatham Daily* newspaper had yet to reach the full expanse of its readership, she had already received multiple calls from her team about the increased demand for pickles within the empire and nurous inquiries from rchants interested in exporting her products abroad.
---
Guru Raj Kesari is the regional manager of one of the three Raya Royal Bank branches within the imperial capital.
Guru Raj had expected his day to be the sa as usual, but to his surprise, it was anything but.
"Manager, the boy from the newspaper has co to our bank!" Secretary Ravi exclaid with excitent, pointing to a face on the front page of the newspaper.
Guru Raj was startled. "Raftaar is here?" His face lit up with excitent. "Let’s go quickly and greet him."
Without hesitation, Guru Raj left his office to et the first celebrity of the Bharatiya Empire in the truest sense of the word.
Guru Raj soon stood in front of a booth he knew was rented by the industrialist Jayamma.
*Knock, knock.*
"Co in," a voice called from inside, and Guru Raj promptly opened the door and entered the booth.
As soon as he saw Raftaar and his friend, Guru Raj’s eyes sparkled with excitent.
"Hello, Mr. Raftaar. My na is Guru Raj Kesari, and I am the regional manager of the Raya Royal Bank, 7th Road Branch."
"Your visit has brought us great delight, and we are imnsely grateful. Please let know if there’s anything you need—I will do my best to assist."
Raftaar and Zafir were taken aback by the turn of events, and even Jayamma was surprised by how cordial the regional manager was with Raftaar. She could understand him being friendly, as Raftaar was practically a celebrity now, but his humility at this level caught her off guard.
’Could it be that I am still underestimating the actual value of this boy?’ she thought, feeling amazed.
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