The Migration wave

July 1662 

A couple of months after Vijay's inspection 

Puducherry Port, Cheranadu State 

Venkatramappa, a middle-aged man with his family of four, stood restless among a long queue of hundreds of people waiting on the dock of Puducherry, one of the major ports of the Bharatiya Empire. He had a complex mix of emotions on his face, worry, excitement, hope, and even a little fear. He was holding his 2-year-old newborn daughter in his arms, who was sleeping soundly, while his wife Shanthamma was holding the hand of his son and standing behind him with a worried look on her face. 

His son was continuously crying because he didn't want to leave his hometown and friends behind, but it had been going on for so long that it had become background noise for Venkatramappa and his wife. 

'Dong!!!'