Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology-Chapter 953: Development of Tourism

"There are multiple ships operating this route, sirs, but if you are willing to spend a few hundred Varaha, I’m willing to get you the best seats on the fastest ship that will get you across the empire."

Ramesuan was silent for a moment, but hesitantly agreed and paid the man what the man asked. Ekathat had the urge to stop his impulsive friend, but in the end, he stopped himself, since he still had some confidence in the public security of the Bharatiya Empire. He at least knew that no one would blatantly start to cheat the people near the eastern entrance of the canal, since, from what he understood, the canal is a big deal in the empire.

Thankfully, his bet paid off because the man really didn’t cheat them out of their money; both of them had tickets on a merchant vessel which was going to Mangaluru in a hurry.

Getting on the ship and standing on the deck, they were mesmerised by the scenery, dozens of ships were coming in and out of the mainland of the Bharatiya Empire, as if they were carriages moving into an urban city. There were all types of ships, some were merchant vessels, some were passenger ships, there were fishing ships, cargo ships, and sometimes they even saw police vessels and vessels of the Coast Guard.

As the ship got to move, Ekathat and Ramesuan got to realise just how big the canal had become; basically, all the ships that wanted to go to the western coast from the eastern coast directly used the canal instead of going around Anuradha Puri. Thankfully, the canal was built big enough, so despite dozens of ships travelling side by side, there was still a large space left.

While moving, they realised something odd, sometimes their ship would stop after they reached into the part where the canal was dug, and the water level would for some reason rise. After a few minutes, they would once again move forward. This happened multiple times. It was when they asked the captain of the ship that they realised the Bharatiyas had built level bridges in the sections of the artificially dug canal for the ships to sail forward.

Toward the journey, both Ekathat and Ramesuan were mesmerised. This was the first time they had been to the interior of the Bharatiya Empire. Until now, they had been to several ports on the eastern coast, but nothing more than that. They saw how every village had been turned into a bustling town on the coast of the canal, how several tourist attractions had been created for the people to enjoy. Most importantly, they saw cities in the inland like Erode, Thirucharappalli, and, most importantly, Coimbatore, developed extremely quickly due to the canal.

Of course, they did not actually know how developed the cities had become, but the way the captain described it made them aware of the importance of the canal.

"My brother-in-law works in the real estate market of Coimbatore. At this time last year, the price of a square foot of land in Coimbatore was only 20 Varaha, but now it has risen to 50 Varaha, and it keeps on rising without any show of slowing down."

"Some villagers who sold the large tracts of land they had have already become 100,000 households, and some landlords have become millionaires by the worth of their land alone."

"Not only that, it is said that the government of Cholapuri, due to the boost in transportation it has caused in the southern part of the empire, said in a parliamentary meeting that it is thinking of nominating Coimbatore as a transportation hub just like the imperial capital, Bengaluru, and Nagpur."

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People like Ekathat and Ramesuan were just two among the countless individuals who came to experience the Great Southern Bharatiya Canal (GSBC) for themselves. Within a span of a few months, the canal was already transporting anywhere between 10,000 to 50,000 tons of goods and cargo.

Another aspect that drew attention from people across the empire was the unexpected ecological shift caused by the saltwater introduced into the inland river. Although this made the river saline and killed off a large number of native marine creatures like freshwater fish and plants, something surprising happened. A few months after the canal began operating, saltwater fish began to thrive on a large scale.

This sudden abundance opened up new opportunities for the villages, towns, and cities along the canal’s coast, creating fresh prospects for fishing and trade in these transformed waters.

The various panchayats on the coast immediately took advantage of the changes and introduced incentives for fishing businesses to prosper. For example, in Coimbatore, the panchayat has come up with a small-scale special economic zone of their own where two whole streets were completely dedicated to fish and fish-related products like nets, fishing poles, baits, and other things. This even became a tourist attraction where people all over the empire came to Coimbatore to fish for saltwater fish in an inland river.

Witnessing the development of Coimbatore after taking such initiatives, other small villages and towns started their own initiatives as well. Some started tourism projects to attract tourists traveling the canal, some provided warehouse services for merchants to store their goods temporarily, some provided boat renting services, and even the tribal people living in the hills of Neeligari couldn’t escape the allure of development and opened up their lands to develop their hill in the direction of elite housing by contacting local authorities and building tall villas for the rich people who want to wake up looking at the busiest water channel in the empire.

Of course, their plans were not too easy since roads had not been laid down on their hill, but with the help of people who had graduated from high school and college in their tribe, they found private real estate investors and developed their hill together.

In such a way, their whole tribe suddenly went from being people living in the mountains far away from civilisation to rich people living in a remote location with a collective net worth of several million.

Their change was inspiring enough for their story to be written in the major regional newspaper, Tamil Urai.

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Tourism in the Bharatiya Empire is at an all-time high. College students travel to random places across the empire every year as a way to see the world and broaden their horizons. High-income families visit famous temples twice a year, combining devotion with leisure. As a result, the temple economy is thriving more than ever.

Europeans frequently visit the Bharatiya Empire for tourism, drawn by its rich culture, history, and prosperity. Likewise, Southeast Asians view touring the Bharatiya Empire much like how an average Indian in Vijay’s past life would view visiting the United States, an aspirational journey to a land of opportunity, grandeur, and prestige.

And every year, new tourist attractions are added in the empire, and the Great Southern Bharatiya Canal is only one of two major attractions that have been added recently. The other attraction is the hot air balloon that has been causing waves across the empire.

After Ghosh Aeronautics announced that it would withdraw from the tourism business to focus solely on manufacturing and research, tourism companies across the empire, especially major players like Benveniste and Petrova Touring, Seven Wonders Touring, Balaji Touring, and others, seized the opportunity. They purchased several hot air balloons from Ghosh Aeronautics, trained over 500 personnel to operate and maintain them, and secured land rights in some of the most scenic locations in the empire where hot air balloon operations could thrive.

Whether it is the vibrant view of the Pink City, Jaipur, the golden sands of Pushkar, the lush valleys of Lonavala, or the coastal charm of Goa, the empire offered diverse landscapes perfect for ballooning, and the people could not resist. One can soar above the grand palaces of Mysore, drift over the ancient forts of Agra, and witness the sacred ghats from the skies near Varanasi. The dense forests of Ranthambore, the serene lakes of Bhopal, and the rolling hills surrounding Pune all unveil their beauty to those who choose to experience Bharath from the skies.

From teachers to college students, from workers to business owners, everyone with the dream to fly took to the skies in hot air balloons. There was even a poet who wrote a poem inspired by what he witnessed from above. His work was so well-received that it was featured in several major newspapers across the empire and later included in regional language textbooks.

The poet was an experienced writer named Vasudeva Chandra Das, and his poem was titled *Varanasi from the Sky*

Above the ghats where the bells still chime,

I drift on winds that carry time—

Varanasi unfolds, layer by layer,

A city of smoke, of song, of prayer.

The Ganga winds like molten glass,

Carrying echoes of lives that pass,

Cremation fires and temple drums,

Where every soul returns and comes.

Golden spires and narrow streets,

Where past and present always meet,

From the sky, the maze unwinds,

A tapestry stitched by countless minds.

Eternal, sacred, worn yet grand,

Varanasi rests in god’s own hand—

Seen from the heavens, soft and high,

A dream between the earth and sky.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr(e)𝒆novelkiss