It was a rare quiet night for Prashant, with no ghost stories. The next day, he had a quick meal and went to the carpenter's guild. After all, this was the first time Chandramukhi had ordered him, and he believes a satiated ghost is better than a grumpy one.
"Who knows where she went to pester mortals yesterday? Doesn't she need a horse or something? Floating just above the ground very slowly must be an exhausting way to travel." Prashant was in the mood to jest at the literal manifestation of dread. Maybe he is feeling particularly brave after the success of yesterday's story about Rajputs.
He came to negotiate a contract to build a few bridges at strategic points across rivers and even small streams. He personally had experienced that even on a shallow stream, villagers needed to empty their carts to prevent the wheels from getting stuck in mud. He has no shortage of resources, so he might as well do a good job. Who knows, this might be included in some book to highlight his vision later down the line.
Feeling smug about himself, he came to a building near to outer town. It's logical given that the Sutar, the carpenter caste, needs heavy raw materials. So instead of dragging logs through the entire city, simply place the headquarters on the outskirts.
This building, too, had an arch with its name written in gold. Probably it's some kind of long-standing tussle among all artisan guilds in town. He was taken into the innermost part. During the walk, he found many young assistants chiselling woodwork under the instruction of seniors.
There was a smell of fresh bark, some leaves, and that iconic sandalwood. That stuff sometimes gets priced at weight in silver. Here, the apprentices were casually using it to learn intricate zariyan work. It sort of mimicked a net, with small holes for ventilation, a screen of fine wood, to be precise.
Luxury doesn't even begin to describe what they are achieving in this random building in a town middle of nowhere. This is actually the fusion of Arabic and all the rest of foreigners' crafts, blending with the traditional caste system. The final product seems to be a kind of enclosed buggy for ornamental purposes, maybe a chariot or casing for idols of the gods?
Soon, he met an imposing man, from the outside, you can't even tell he was the carpenter guild's leader. One would imagine a slender guy with an iconic pencil or chalk inserted above his ear and his hands almost ready to measure diagonals and perpendiculars. But nope, it was a fairly girthy man with cheeks so chubby as if all the prasad (food for the gods) in the temple goes in his mouth. He must have connections with people inside. With a face showing the calmness of a brahmin (priest/teacher) rather than the sharpness of a proto-engineer.
"Ram ram (greetings), uncle. I was referred by Navin, the proprietor of Dharmashala near the temple. I need your help with some work during this monsoon season. I'm going to build a few bridges and rain shelters around the town to facilitate the pilgrims coming for the upcoming festival. I'm working with the temple priests to arrange it. I'll be providing the elephants and guards.
Can this be done?" Prashant conveyed his intention with sincerity. It's better not to hide from professionals; they have better experience in diverse usage scenarios. Who knows if the festival in these parts meant bringing in even more elephants, and if not told properly, the bridge won't carry the load.
"Ram ram, Prince, I was told about you. We can even build a Pushpak viman (mythical aircraft) if the client asks, let alone a bridge! But can we have one of the elephants bring in some of the logs to the site? Nearby villages are relatively wealthy and bring in a lot of cattle and pack animals during festivals, hauling their goods. The bridges will need heavier pillars."
"No problem, I'll hand a few over, I've plenty of those. Plus, I'm going to replace the wooden bridge later with stones. So the villagers won't have inconvenience later...." Prashant was about to ramble on, but noticed the temperature drop. And so the smile of the guild leader disappeared. Being a smart guy, he quickly realised it was related to stones. Maybe there really is a long-standing competition among the artisan castes here. So he quickly corrected the stance.
"And by making those masons work on bridges outside the city, we can start working on the real project. A grand chariot for the goddess's idol. I wish to use the finest quality wood, silver, and gold. I've no experience in commissioning one, so I was hoping you could come forward and manage everything."
"Don't worry, prince. You've chosen the perfect person for the job. Navin did tell me that you have a vision. Almost a wise man.. cough, cough, I totally meant Navin. Anyway, don't worry. We'll make a giant chariot with the best quality wood. It will stay for centuries as a masterpiece, a living proof of your devotion." The leader answered while smiling ear to ear. And the deal was concluded on a happy note. Prashant will let Jayendra oversee the work outside.
He walked away while muttering, "I don't need the Pushpak vimaan, but I'll have you guys make European-styled ocean-faring ships. We'll see if you're really that good. The West was a clear leader in making these strategic wooden castles on water. Plus, I would rather outlive the chariot. I've invested so many points in my constitution. I'm hoping that it was not a waste.
Maybe I'll become immortal, and the land will remember me as a living ruler. Maybe the ending of this story would be me simply living till modern times. By the time the train reached Delhi, I would appear outside my cabin. And maybe by then the entire country would be using notes with my face on it, and I'll ... Control Prashant. No need to let go of sanity so early in the morning."
Prashant arranged the aftermath by throwing everything at Jayendra. The big giant feels reliable, maybe, hopefully. To be on the safe side and complete the lie. Prashant decided to visit Mason's guild. It too has to be near the outer town. He wants to have permanent roads in the region.
What we usually imagine is what paved road means; we think of the upper 3 inches of asphalt pavement. But that's not entirely correct. Modern roads are built on Roman patterns. The macadam roads. It involved digging underneath the soil for a few feet. Then compacting, filling with varying-sized stones from the bottom and then crowning it all with the top layer. This gives permanency because it considers everything, from soil stability to load transfer to underground drainage. The top layer is merely for riding comfort. India, however, did not have such roads.
India had great roads. The Grand Trunk Road connected ports in Bengal (eastern coast) to Sindh (western coast). It ran through the entire length of the northern plains. That network served nearly half of the population and was maintained throughout history by successive rulers. Be it the Maurya Empire, or Gupta Empire, or the contemporary Sultanate and Mughals.
But crucially, this "road" was not a physical surface. Rather, it was a network of inns and caravanserai for traders, pilgrims and armies to stop during the long journey. The pavement technology was simply not widely used outside cities.
Even modern India gets roasted for having bad roads. New roads will be riddled with potholes and warping in just a few months. But there is an underlying cause. The monsoon. 4 months of continuous heavy rains clog the soil under the road, damaging its stability. The poor pavement we see is are mere symptom of this phenomenon.
"Let's see if the traditional caste system can deliver what I want. I'll explain the procedure and have them make modifications based on local situations. Maybe in a year, the entire region will be well-connected. But it can't be done in the monsoon. Let's sweeten the deal and start cooperation with a smaller project. I'll commission the building of an arch in Dongarwadi village.
It will be a simple stone arch, with large letters saying Welcome in solid gold. Everyone else is doing it. When in doubt, queue behind the longest line!" The deal went very well. As for the question of whether building an arch in the rain is tough? Prashant will intentionally ignore that part.
So now, Prashant has long-standing cooperation with Temple, three artisan guilds of Lohar, Sutar and Wadar. It seems he can be proud to fulfil his wish of embedding himself in their social fabric. "Plus, I even completed my whim of building an arch to the initial village. I imagined doing it sometimes much later down the line, but if sorta happened within a week." Truly, everything is going well.
[M: Have you ever asked the villagers if they want an arch?]
"Umm, damn it. Sister, please help me think of a way to convince them."
[M: Send the innkeeper. He is known to be a master negotiator.]
"Thanks, it seems Navin is some kind of legend in the region."
[M: You can say that. But how are you going to afford all this? With just 1 point of mana? Isn't it a bit too much?]
"Who cares, as long as it works. If your department sends the stationery budget 6 times in a single year, you simply keep mum. Loot it as long as it's still free." Prashant is being sarcastic as usual. He managed to save his dignity before his ghost sister with some random nonsense. He walked forward with blind confidence without caring to think much.