Chapter 1051: The Special Editions
25th December 1687
The cars were placed in containers and shipped to buyers all over the empire. They soon began to appear on the roads, catching the attention of everyone around them. They became attention magnets, making people unable to resist glueing their eyes to the sight of a car moving with the power of steam. It looked magical, almost unreal.
Generally, Bharatiyas had developed a strong resistance to being surprised by drastic changes. Only three decades ago, they had been living in a situation that could only be described as a dump, a lawless and fragmented dump. But now, they lived in a nation where they could travel to any part of the vast empire without trouble, contact someone thousands of kilometres away for just a few hundred Varaha, and visit holy temples they had once only dreamed of seeing every few years as casually as they used to visit their local towns. Transportation had advanced so much that all kinds of conveniences were now just a short walk away.
So it can be imagined how amazing the invention of the steam-powered car is, to make the Bharatiya who had witnessed so many changes over the last three decades completely mesmerised and almost forget what they were doing and pay full attention to the marvel of the 17th-century Bharatiya Empire.
As for the elites of the empire, owning a car not only brought them great convenience, as horses were no longer needed, but it also became a status symbol.
It was almost like a club membership; if you didn’t have any steam-powered car of some sort, you would be embarrassed to call yourself a high-class elite.
Funnily enough, due to this exclusivity, even clubhouses were formed where only people who owned a certain car could join, for example, the A7 clubhouse, a clubhouse for people who were able to acquire an Aakarsh A7, the most expensive and exquisite production car currently available in the empire.
Naturally, the A7 clubhouse was not the only clubhouse; the Veer Clubhouse, S12 clubhouse, Shaan clubhouse, and V1 clubhouse were all present, all accepting members who owned the specific car.
What many people did not expect was that, due to the exclusivity of the cars, they instantly became collectables. The value of Aakarsh A7, which was 115,000 Varaha by the time of its sale, had risen to over 152,000 on the second-hand market, and that too for a used car. For a car that was in mint condition, prices were seen rising to over 180,000 or even higher.
Many people did not actually sell the car since they were not short of money, but a few did after realising that they had purchased beyond their capacity. These people made huge profits, because after Vijay noticed this phenomenon, he immediately had the Raya Power Company, which manufactures all Balwan 4th Gen engines, both M series and T series, put out the news that over 4,000 engines would be manufactured by the end of the year, and the sales of the cars would resume early Q1 in 1688.
This news immediately slashed down the prices to a much more acceptable 20 or 30% premium, but this was enough to illustrate how crazy the second-hand market had become.
While all this was happening, a large Guwahati-class container series ship set off from the port of Vishakapatnam to the various Southeast Asian vassal kingdoms, carrying on it the exclusive cars custom-made for the kings of the various vassal kingdoms.
The ship first passed through the territories of his son and daughter, the Kingdom of Malaya Pradesh and the Kingdom of Vayu Dvaja, but since both of them were still in the empire, the ship, other than restocking supplies, did not stop in the port of Singhapura for too long, and continued the journey.
After passing through the Malacca Strait, the ship stopped at the Kingdom of Javanesha and transported the car meant for King Ramayya Senapati.
Ramayya Senapati was extremely busy with the work of the government. He was an excellent general, but he didn’t know much about management, so he had to take the help of many retainers and constantly monitor them to make sure they were not doing anything shady. Because of this, he didn’t know what was happening in the empire, but when he received the car, he had no choice but to put down his work and accept the gift from His Majesty, the Emperor.
He actually did not know what was within the container, but when he saw the car with his own eyes, his mouth couldn’t help but go agape. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. The unique motifs of the southern part of the empire, as well as the emblem of his family, the Senapati family, which was attached right in front of the car in the form of a small idol standing proudly with a spear and a shield, left him at a loss for words.
Walking around the car in detail, he saw the sides of the car etched with unique patterns and imagery of his achievements and the glory he had brought to the Bharatiya Empire.
Even on the wheels, he saw the emblem of the Legion he had commanded for nearly two decades.
The feeling of nostalgia hit him hard, and for a moment, it made him think that he had made a mistake in accepting the throne rather than giving it up and remaining as commander.
Thankfully, he quickly pulled back his diverging thoughts. He smiled wryly, ‘It is already too late to regret, why bother?’ He was a rational person, so he did not want him or his descendants to claim the right to the throne and fight with His Highness Agni, no matter how constitutional it is.
Besides, he can now pass on the throne to his own descendants. How comfortable was it?
Ramayya Senapati didn’t know how to drive the car, so he didn’t immediately start it up and drive it around the palace, which he was itching to do, but he restrained his urges and carefully read through the instructions.
In the meantime, the journey of the Guwahati class containership continued as it visited the Kingdom of Bali Devarapura and delivered the King of Bali, Gusti Praji Shakti, his own car, custom built with designs of Balinese culture in mind, like the depiction of Vishnu on top of the Garuda, exactly how it was depicted in the famous Bali statue in Vijay’s past life, various Balinese motifs etched across the frame of the car. It even had a mural, a famous Balinese painting which showed the people of Bali and the Bharatiya Empire combined resisting the oppression of the colonials.
In such a way, cars were delivered to Jayadwaj Singha, who got a car themed with Ahom cultural symbols, his family’s emblem, and other things important to him.
Kiran Poojari, who got a car designed with his glorious history of resisting the Mughals all by himself during his service in the Vijayanagar Empire, his act of holding the line of defence against the Ottomans, and his act of modernising the army after he took the position of the Minister of Defence.
Gautam, got a car which was designed exactly like the flagship of his fleet, which he once commanded.
Sarvesh Ranavikrama, who got a car with a mix of references to his bravery of infiltrating enemy cities and breaking it from inside, and his role as the first commander of the Bharatiya Army, who took charge of all special forces. His car was even a little special, because it even had a slot for service to place his sword.
Narasimha Nayak, too, got a car designed with his achievements and his service in the Bharatiya military. Lachit Borpukan got a car depicting his heroic image of taking on the Mughals all by himself, even when the Bharatiya Empire did not exist, it was filled with rich Naga symbolisms, as a person who was highly respected by the Naga tribes of the empire.
Finally, a different ship set off from the port of Mumbai, delivering Akhil, Prasanna Nayar, and Vinod their exclusive cars in their respective kingdoms. Because of Vijay’s decision to gift the Raya R1 Imperial only to the kings of the vassal kingdoms, the car instantly became associated with nobility and royalty. Combined with its exquisite craftsmanship, handmade by the finest artisans of the Bharatiya Empire, nearly every king displayed the car proudly in front of his palace, treating it as much as a piece of art as a vehicle.
Sarvesh Ranavikrama even went so far as to commission a painter to capture him standing beside his car, framing the finished work and placing it in the main hall of his palace. He even spent half a day standing motionless to ensure the artist captured the image perfectly.
Because each car was crafted with deeply personal and culturally resonant designs, the Raya R1 Imperial quickly became synonymous with luxury and national pride. For this very reason, various rulers from ASEAN and the Middle East used their diplomatic channels to petition the Emperor’s office for permission to place orders for the car as well.
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