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136 Portuguese Merchants Visit Part :3
After a good night's rest, the Portuguese merchant group got dressed and ready, waiting for Laksh to come and pick them up. They did not have to wait long, as a brown-skinned young man soon arrived at the guest houses where they were staying. "Boy Landon, what took you so long?" Alexio Fernandes asked in a grumpy tone, as he had gotten up earlier than everyone else in the visiting group and had been waiting for quite a while. "Ah, sigh," Laksh sighed, still not used to the new name he was being called by, "I am sorry, sir, but I had to inform the workshop owners about your arrival today, so it took a bit of your time. I deeply apologize."
"Alright, alright, let's go, let's go, let's see what else you have to show," Alexio said excitedly, and everyone else in the merchant group seemed to agree with him.
Soon enough, Laksh brought them to the largest warehouse they had yet to see in Vijayanagara. "Esteemed gentlemen, what you see here is the workshop tasked with procuring all the raw materials needed for the textile industry. This workshop procures cotton, silk, and wool from various parts of the Empire. Cotton and silk are homegrown in our empire. As for wool, we import this from the north. These raw materials come from various parts of the country or even outside the country and are distributed through various warehouses, similar to the one you are seeing right now.
After showing them the location of the warehouse, he took them to another place. "Now, gentlemen, what you see here is the second stage of our textile industry chain. This whole building you see in front of you is dedicated to the ginners and spinners. Most of the workers here are women. Traditionally, this work was done by women with a lot of experience in this industry, skilled artisans working from their homes. However after the new manufacturing method was introduced, it was found that it would be more economical and efficient to have the women work under the same roof and share divided tasks based on whoever could do the task best. Although the process of ginners and spinners seems simple, it requires a lot of experience."
The Portuguese visiting group agreed as some of them were not new to this industry, having experience with similar processes. However, what was new was the efficiency of deseeding the cotton and skillfully processing it for the next stage.
After inspecting how the women worked, they moved on to the next location.
"And now, gentlemen, the next step of this process is with the weavers. This is one of the most labour-intensive parts of the process. This large workshop in front of you is dedicated to processing the threads. This workshop has only one task, and that is weaving the cloth according to standardized dimensions."
Laksh said as he took the people inside the warehouse, which could be seen from even the outside that it was very noisy. As soon as they entered the workshop, they were shocked, as they had never seen something like this. They could see hundreds of weavers working in many rows, operating their hand looms. The machines produced a symphony of sounds as hundreds of looms were operated together. "Clang, clang, clang." Sounds were heard throughout the workshop as the workers continued to operate their looms with both their hands and feet to bring the thousands of threads into an exquisite piece of cloth.
"These workers are working on the cotton clothes you have ordered. Due to the patterns you requested not being too complicated, the work is moving at a fast speed. If you want more exquisite patterns, you will have to wait for a longer time. Normally, this process is very time-consuming."
"I did it."
Suddenly, the visiting group's attention was caught by a high-pitched scream coming from a corner of the workshop. Despite the sound produced by the looms, the high-pitched noise cuts right through it. Curious, the merchant group went over inside a separate room off the workshop. There they saw a woman laughing happily as she took a piece of cloth that looked like silk in her hands and giggled happily.
All eyes turned to Laksh, curious to hear his explanation. They were puzzled by the woman's actions. Laksh, however, felt a headache coming on at the sight of this woman. Despite that, he recalled the question and replied, "Sir, this is Latha Bai. She's the daughter of the workshop owner. Don't let her appearance fool you; she's a renowned designer in the capital. Many of the famous clothing patterns are her creations. Occasionally, she drops by here to experiment with designs she's come up with. You can check out her store in the city centre, which she owns."
"What? She manages her own business?" The merchants were taken aback, struggling to comprehend how the workshop owner allowed a woman to handle a significant business, especially one located in the bustling city centre. Even though they weren't familiar with the local prices in Vijayanagara, their seasoned business instincts led them to believe that a property in the city centre wouldn't come cheap, possibly exceeding the cost of the sizable warehouse they had observed on the city's outskirts.
Laksh, who heard the man's rude remarks, secretly looked at Latha to see if she understood what this foreigner said. But she seemed to be immersed in her own world. He let out a sigh of relief, fully relieved that this bad-tempered big sister did not hear the man. But then again, she does not know Portuguese. What was there to worry about? He suddenly remembered, wiping an imaginary sweat from his head, he replied, "Gentlemen, there is nothing preventing women from working in our empire. It is more so since our majesty took the throne and further pushed for women to have some power in society. Since then, gradually many women have worked in the medical field as nurses and doctors. Even there is a gradual rise in female employment in education, and the whole textile industry could be said to be dominated by women, as women control most of the designs in this industry, and most of the spinners are women."
Hearing the reply, everyone stayed silent as they still couldn't accept all this. But they decided not to comment on the customs of Vijayanagara and moved on to the final destination.
"Gentlemen, this is one of the famous clothes workshops in the Vijayanagar Empire, Bakshi Textiles. The Bakshi family owns this textile industry and it is spread throughout the empire. They have become a big name in the empire recently for affordable and high-quality clothes. Come, let me show you."
As soon as they entered the workshop, they were met with Arjan Bakshi, who is now in charge of Bakshi Textiles. Seeing the foreign guests arriving, Arjan quickly came forward to greet them. "Welcome, guests from afar, welcome to my humble workshop. I have already been informed of your visit. Please come inside, let me show you around. But please be informed that the workshop is quite busy, and I won't be able to keep you for long. So please excuse me for this short company."
Laksh Translated his words for the merchants, making sure they grasped the explanation. Alexio gestured dismissively and remarked, "No need to worry. I understand. Besides, it seems like you're fulfilling our orders. So, no harm done. I've noticed on my recent visits that the folks here in Vijayanagara are quite serious about efficiency."
Laksh continued in his role as the translator, and Bakshi responded with a smile, guiding them through the workshop. Highly skilled craftsmen carefully cut the fabric into measured pieces, utilizing scales and markings for precision. The cloth then progressed to the next artisan, getting the clothes as close to their final form as possible. Depending on the fabric, various dyes and prints such as indigo, madder, and lac, each with its dedicated industry chain, were applied based on the customer's preferences. After several such steps involving different sections of the cloth, a complete set of clothes emerged. Observing this process, the merchants were impressed by the uniform, precise, and efficient workflow at Bakshi Textiles. The concept of the industry chain became even more firmly established in their minds.
Their final destination was the Bhupathi Medical Workshop. Initially disinterested in this medical facility, the group's attitude shifted when Laksh mentioned that he was the trailblazer behind this industry chain model. Everyone became impressed and approached him for a conversation. However, due to the language barrier, Bhupathi could only laugh and proudly showcase his achievements.
Having witnessed everything they intended to see, they expressed a swift desire to meet Rajesh. Their agenda was to discuss the matter concerning their orders and inquire about the status of the cement and Other Interesting things.
To Be Continued... P.S. The Next Chapter Will be the last of the Merchant Visit series.