The journey of Bhavanth Xochipilli was exciting to say the least. The ti he spent in BNV Purushotham, a large 2000-tonne passenger ship of the Brown Logistics Company, was unforgettable.
Throughout the journey, he was scared out of his wits, constantly shivering in fright. Even looking at the large water body from the deck made his legs weak and made him unable to move forward, but at the sa ti, he couldn't help but smile exaggeratedly every ti he saw the waves crashing onto the ship like a possessed spirit. Even the townsn who saw him grow up would be surprised by seeing his expression. More importantly, since he was still a young child, everyone seed to be weirded out by him, so he did not have much company in his travels, but that didn't bother him since he had his thoughts and his countless stories to keep him company.
And so, while his mind wandered freely, his body remained tense. Apart from when he slept, the rest of the ti his body was filled with adrenaline. At tis, he even felt like he could beco sick of the exertion he was going through. Fortunately, every few days the ship stopped at a port, which gave him plenty of opportunities to adjust and stabilise his conditions.
In the blink of an eye, a week passed, and BNV Purushotham finally reached Triconomalae, a major port in Anuradhapuri.
The Port of Triconomalae, located on the eastern coast of Anuradhapuri, is not as large, economically developed, or even as lively as the major ports of the Bharatiya Empire like the Kochi Port, Vishakapatnam Port, Mangalore Port, or even the Chabahar Port, but looking at the hustle and bustle in front of him, it was easily the second biggest port Bhavanth had ever seen, the first being the Nakawaram Port, which he stopped by during the voyage.
Comparing the Triconomalae Port with his hotown, Jalamarga is like comparing an adult with a child. They are both on completely different levels.
Bhavanth looked at everything with a hint of excitent, amazent, and ease. Looking at the words on the terminals, signs, port layout, direction boards, and the uncles and aunts wearing familiar uniforms all made it seem like he had just travelled to another city that was not too far away from his hotown. The sense of familiarity and the feeling that he was very close to ho made him feel at ease. He was originally worried and scared that he would have to live far away from his ho, thousands of kilotres away, but after stopping by in three different ports in a matter of a week, he figured out that he would be all right, seeing how familiar everything was. Although places might have changed, there were so things that remained the sa throughout the places, which beca his emotional anchor to his ho.
As soon as he got down from the stairs, a person holding the signboard at the receiving terminal caught his attention. The sign had the words "Welco Bhavanth Xochipilli" written on it. Bhavanth imdiately smiled and ran closer to the person.
But suddenly, he was stopped by an inspector uncle. Bhavanth was startled; however, as he looked at the police uncle, the patterns on his dress and his badge, he imdiately realised what was going on.
"It's inspection, isn't it? Here, this is my bag. Please go ahead." He pulled open the bag to show its contents.
The police uncle, with a strict expression on his face, seriously inspected the bag and finally nodded with a smile. "Go ahead, young man."
Bhavanth thanked the police uncle and entered the lounge. But as he walked inside and as the shade which was covering the face of the person holding the sign was lifted, he was surprised because it turned out to be a woman, a beautiful native woman at that. He imdiately recognised that the big sister was definitely a person who was from his mother's tribe, wearing very familiar ornate beads sowhat similar to the ones his mother wore.
"Cualli hualhci!" The elder sister had a radiant smile on her face as she greeted him. "You co well."
Bhavanth smiled happily, "Thank you, sister. From now on, I will be under your care. Please take care of ."
With a casual smile, she shook her head, "There is no trouble, let's go."
As they travelled together, Bhavanth got to know that the na of the sister was Preethi Citlalmina, a native just like his parents, who were sold to the Bharatiya Empire by the hateful White Devils. But unlike him, the sister said that she had co to the Bharatiya Empire over a decade ago, just when the Bharatiya Empire started to trade with the Aricas.
The sister said that she managed to co to the Bharatiya Empire after she was rescued by a Bharatiya sailor who had seen her tied up and being pulled to the church.
"Anyway, forget it, it's all in the past. So tell , do you want to see the city? I will show you around."
"Can I?" Bhavanth 's eyes lit up; his expression imdiately beca eager.
"Haha, alright then, I will show you around when we reach there."
The next couple of days were spent with Bhavanth admiring the streets of Anuradhapura, the cultural and educational capital of Anuradhapuri. He road the streets like he was a villager who had just stepped into a large city. On his trip, he saw a lot of temples, unique buildings, and courts. He saw large carriages, busy traffic, and heard various sounds—bells ringing, people shouting, music playing sowhere in the distance. People were wearing colourful clothes everywhere, with cheerful expressions on their faces. There were unique architectural marvels, courts, hospitals, and even a lot of schools and colleges.
He understood a lot about the Bharatiya Empire, which he had only heard about in the mouth of Old Man Chitti, who talked about the empire endlessly with so pride and longing.
Bhawan looked up at the sky at the tall 6-story clock tower located in the city centre of Anuradhapura. The second hand was ticking with a rhythmic chanical sound every second as the minute hand moved closer to the 12 mark ever so slightly.
"Dong!!"
"Dong!!"
"Dong!!"
"Dong!!"
As soon as the second hand completed a rotation and the minute hand reached the 12 mark, loud sounds of bells reverberated throughout the city centre, echoing the ti throughout the city.
Bhavanth giggled with excitent. He had seen a lot of things after coming to this city, and he had been to many places which made him feel novel, excited—especially the amusent park, which he had never been to before—but he still felt like the clock tower was the most amazing thing he had seen all day.
"Hey, kid, are you done admiring? Co on, let's set off. I will have to complete your admission, we'll have to arrange for you to be settled down."
Unknowingly, Preethi Sister was standing right next to him, looking at his shocked expression and smiled playfully. "Ugh, alright."
Although reluctant, he followed Sister Preethi to the hotel where he had been staying for the last few days.
Going back, he packed up all his luggage and then sat in the carriage that was waiting for him.
"So, have you made your decision?" Sister Preethi sat in front of him and asked with a serious expression on her face. But before he could answer, worried that he would be hasty since she knew that most native children do not know much about the empire, she added, "Normally, it wouldn't matter which first-tier college you choose since the facilities in all the colleges are sowhat similar, but since you got a recomndation and a full scholarship from Raya University, it is easy for you to be accepted by any college in the empire, so it is best that you choose a high-ranking first-tier college. More specifically, you have to choose high-ranking colleges in educational capitals of various states; this is the place where most high-ranking educational institutes gather and is also the place where all the geniuses from the state are concentrated. You'll get not only more opportunities in this place but also a chance to collaborate with all kinds of people."
"And one more thing."
"Not all first-tier colleges are the sa; they are ranked according to their capabilities, reputation, and how many opportunities can be opened up if you join the college. The facilities and infrastructure of the colleges may be the sa, but the way the resources are utilised determines how good a college is. For example, Chaitanya College, one of the best-ranked colleges in the empire, does not have the best facilities, but it has a teaching staff completely composed of teachers who have passed 1st Tier university examinations with a ranking under 1000, and even among them, only those with teaching talents are chosen."
"So you have to think carefully and tell your decision."
Bhavanth felt a little troubled. The scholarship he obtained from Raya University allowed him to study in any first-tier pre-university college in the empire, with all the boarding, lodging, tuition, and other related expenses covered, along with a monthly stipend of a few hundred Varaha. But in order for him to redeem all the conveniences, he would have to first pick a college he wanted to join. Originally, this decision had to be made by his parents since he knew nothing about which college was better, but when he asked his mother and the shop owner for their opinions, they simply said to make his own choice since they didn't know anything about which college was better.
He also asked people he was familiar with, including the police uncle who escorted him to the port, but he got all sorts of different answers to the question: so said it was Vijay Nagara, so said it was Mangalore, others said it was Chennai, so said Kolkata, so said Tanjavur, and many other things. In the end, instead of reaching a decision, he was left more confused, not knowing which he wanted to choose.
"Sister, which college do you think will be best for ?"
Preethi smiled. It was good that this little brother was not making a decision hastily without any consideration.
"Alright, I will help you choose." She thought for a while and asked, "Is there anything you want in the college, like do you have any special needs?"
Bhavanth furrowed his brows and folded his hands. He imdiately shook his head. "I don't have any special requirents, sister. If it counts, I wish the college were near the ocean or the sea. I am more accustod to coastal places."
"Hmm,"
Preeti thought for a while, and a place suddenly ca to her mind.
"Right, you can enter Murugan College."
"It's located in the cultural and educational capital of Cheranadu."
"The environnt is very nice as well, especially the coconut trees that cover the coast like a tall impenetrable wall, and the college is also located not far from the beach. There is even a large-scale port there, so in the future, you can actually directly take a ship from Kozhikode to Jalamarga."
"Oh, and I heard that there is a literature club in Murugan College. Haven't you received your scholarship for the story you wrote in your high school examinations? Then this literature club will be very useful to you. You can interact with like-minded people who are into reading and writing stories, and in case your story is very good, the people of the club can also help you contact a newspaper company and have you published."
Bhavanth 's eyes brightened more and more with every sentence the sister ntioned. This was all he ever wanted; he really didn't care about which university could give him the best education, he only cared about where he could express himself as freely as possible. "Haha, good, haha, it's decided, sister, I will join Murugan College." He almost wanted to bend forward and hug the big sister sitting in front of him.
Preethi, looking at him so excited, felt amused. She placed her hands on his shoulder and pushed him down.
"Hehe, alright, I'll make arrangents for you. It looks like you really love writing stories."
Bhavanth did not deny it; he simply smiled sheepishly.
Looking at him like this, Preeti shook her head. But rembering sothing, her expression turned a little serious.
"Bhavanth, I do not know if you will be a good writer or not, but if you gain so recognition, please rember to be the voice for our people."
The smile on Bhavanth 's face imdiately froze, and the air in the carriage seed to have beco stagnant.
After a long ti, the seemingly childlike and immature Bhavanth responded in a firm tone, as if he knew what being the voice of his people ant.
"I will, sister. I definitely will."
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