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. Updated from novelbIn.(c)om
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.
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.