In a large hall, people dressed in fancy suits and glamorous dresses were walking around socializing with each other at a banquet. While talking to each other, they would frequently turn their heads subtly towards a corner where a man in his thirties was sitting alone.
The man's overall appearance didn't seem to belong in that setting at all. His hair and beard didn't seem to have had any care in months. His wrinkled grey suit looked old and faded. On top of that, he was even wearing slippers.
With a book in his hand, he looked out of place among all the neatly dressed people. Although people were whispering while glancing at him, he was completely absorbed in the book he was reading.
"Isn't he that guy? I had heard rumors that he has completely let go of himself but it seems true."
"I know right? Why does he come to these functions at all? He doesn't seem to be interested anyway."
"A friend of mine knows his sister. The parents apparently forced him to attend all the invitations. How can a son of a prominent banker turn out like that?"
"I feel lucky. My parents had been talking about marriage with that guy a while back. At this rate, won't he be deprived of all his inheritance?"
While a group of young men and women were gossiping with drinks in their hands, someone approached from behind them and spoke in a playful tone.
"Now, now guys. It is bad manners to talk behind others' backs. Our Vir is just a little eccentric. Please be kind to him."
The group was startled and embarrassed by the smiling, handsome man who had spoken. He looked like a celebrity with his sleek appearance. Some of them managed their expressions quickly and greeted the man.
"Oh, Mr. Anand. Nice to see you here. We were only talking among ourselves. We didn't mean to be rude." A girl hastily explained with the best smile she could muster.
The others echoed the sentiment while trying to sound as friendly as possible. Especially the girls were putting in an extra effort.
Anand nodded with a kind smile, "Well, enjoy the banquet everyone. I'll see you around."
The gazes of the group followed his back in silence until he reached the loner in the corner and started a conversation.
"How on earth are those two friends? It doesn't make sense." Someone sighed.
A reply came right away, "Don't you know? The two of them have been friends since childhood. Their fathers are close too."
"One of the richest men in the country and a large banker being friends makes sense. But a loner bookworm being friends with a guy who practically lives in the limelight is what I don't understand."
A girl who hadn't spoken much until now replied, "I heard Vir is also quite famous in the intellectual circles. His collection of historical books and records is said to be more extensive than most museums."
"You don't have to defend him, we all know you have a crush on that guy." The others started teasing the girl.
…..
"Why is your face buried in a book at a party of all places? Can't you just put it down and have some fun now that you have made the effort to come here? And what is with that outfit?" Anand asked in exasperation.
Vir looked up from the book at Anand who was holding out a drink for him. He took the drink and answered, "I came here wearing a shirt and jeans but the guard at the door said there was a dress code to enter. I didn't want to go out looking for a suit so I bought one off the guard. Thankfully it fits."
"What do you mean it fits? It looks horrendous. Anyway, that's not the point. Just put down the book and socialize a bit. Your mom will give me an earful for no reason if she finds out you spent the whole time like this." Anand rubbed his temples in frustration.
Vir looked at his watch and shook his head, "I'll have to head out in a minute. I have an appointment with the club members."
"I'm guessing you don't mean the kind of club I'm thinking."
Vir chuckled, "It's a new club formed by the country's leading historians and history enthusiasts. I was invited as a guest."
Anand gulped down all the alcohol in his glass and spoke with a frown, "And what? A bunch of old farts and young eccentrics like you gather around in a circle to talk about dead people and ancient places?"
Vir smiled, "It is much more fun than that. We will each be presenting our own alternate history stories and theories. Things like what if one of Hitler's parents had been a jew, what if Alexander had lived longer, or what if the British never ruled India?"
"Hoo, that does sound a little interesting. I'd watch those if they were made into movies or series. What story are you presenting?" Anand showed some interest.
Picking up on the interest, Vir got excited and began explaining, "You know the Rothschild family right?"
Anand nodded, "Yeah. I know the conspiracy theories too. And I've met some of the younger Rothschilds too. Their family wealth is truly enormous even by our standards but nothing like the conspiracies. And they don't have the same influence they had at the height of their power."
Vir was a little surprised, "You didn't tell me about something that interesting but you insisted on bringing me to Macau, you bastard."
Seeing Anand just smiling sheepishly, Vir continued, "Anyway, in the 18th century there was a similar family here in India too. They were called the Jagat Seths meaning World Bankers. They were almost as influential as the Rothschilds were in Europe and were lending money to the Mughal Empire and the British East India Company."
Anand raised his brows in surprise, "For real? How come I have never heard of them?"
"Yeah, at one point, they acted as the central bank for the entire Indian subcontinent and could directly affect the succession of the thrones in all the empires that existed in India at the time. But some of the descendants made stupid mistakes and the family declined and disappeared."
"A family of that magnitude disappeared because of the descendants huh? That's why I left all the management of our family business to my elder brother. I know myself enough that I shouldn't be trusted with billions." Both the friends laughed at Anand's joke.
"So my alternate history topic is about what would have happened if the Jagat Seth family hadn't declined and a politically and economically savvy descendant had taken control of the family."
Anand was intrigued by the idea and after getting lost in thought for a moment, spoke up, "If they were lending money to the East India Company, doesn't that mean the British were already in India? Then the outcome is already decided, the British would have swallowed them whole."
Vir shook his head, "When the Jagath Seths were at the height of their power, the British were barely starting to get a foothold on the continent. They were competing with the French and the Dutch for trade and land.
On top of that, the Maratha Empire was also at its height at the time, and although the Mughal Empire was declining, they had quite a bit of influence too. So there was still a lot of space for political maneuvering."
Anand's eyes shone with interest, "Oh! A rich banking family that existed in the period of the war of hegemony for the Indian subcontinent. This has the combined flavor of the Medici family and the Rothschild family."
"They could've surpassed the Rothschilds since they were already exerting a lot of power and influence when the Rothschilds were just starting to lay their foundations. It's a pity that they ended up becoming a footnote in the history books." Vir sighed.
"I know you are very interested in history and books but why are you acting like you relate or that it is your own family that declined? I know Uncle is doing quite well." Anand asked.
Anand knew Vir better than anyone else including his own family so his display of emotions and investment in the story felt unusual to Anand.
"While researching the Jagat Seths and their decline, I was researching their descendants. Turns out, our family is one of their descendants. So technically, it is about my family." Vir answered.
"That is very surprising. But you don't even care about the money you already have, so what does it matter if your ancestors declined or not? You are still rich anyway."
As was evident from how Vir lived and presented himself, he had very little interest in wealth. All his money was spent on buying historical artifacts, books, memorabilia, and such.
Vir shook his head, "I don't particularly care about money, but that doesn't mean I don't like having more wealth. If I could own the paintings by Da Vinci and Raphael, why wouldn't I?
But more than the wealth, I just feel like they could have had a much greater impact on the history of India. If they had joined hands with the Indian rulers instead of the British, our history might have been different. Isn't that fascinating?"
Vir then went on to cite examples of how history could have changed through the influence of his ancestors. Some of the stories spoke of an India that could be much more prosperous than Europe and some about India fracturing into multiple countries.
In the middle of the conversation, Vir's phone rang an alarm. "Shit. I was so excited to talk about history with you that I forgot the time. I am already late, I'll head out."
Anand spoke as he watched Vir fumble around to gather his book, phone, and jacket.
"I'm starting to get very interested in this history club of yours. Invite me for the next time you have something interesting like that. Also, I want you to tell me the full story of this alternate history. I'll ask some of my friends in the industry if we can make a TV series out of it."
Vir nodded, "Sure, come by my place and we can talk more about it over a game of FIFA."
….
Vir headed out in a hurry and got in the car that the valet had brought out. Although he didn't spend money on luxury, Vir was someone who splurged on comfort. So his car was an S-class.
"Shit. I hope there is no traffic at this time." Vir muttered as his car cut through the dark highway toward the place where the dinner gathering was being held.
As he raced through the sparse traffic of the late evening, his mind wandered back to the conversation he had with Anand, one of the things that Anand had said kept coming to his mind.
"What would you have done if you went back in time and became the descendant of the Jagat Seth family? Do you think you could change the history of India for the better?"
It was an absurd question but it was something he had come to expect from his friend. Anand had also gotten into the habit of reading thanks to him. But what Anand used to read were comics and manga.
Vir himself also liked to read comics when he was young but as he grew up his tastes changed and he started reading novels and historical books. But Anand's reading habits had remained the same.
"What? The genre of time regression and reincarnation are very popular right now. I'm investing in the animation of one of the webtoons with similar webtoons too. I think such a story has a lot of potential, especially for the Indian audience." Anand had justified himself by saying this.
Vir chuckled to himself while thinking of the interesting premise that was presented by his friend. 'Maybe I should present the story to the group in first person? They might find it interesting too.'
Just as Vir was thinking of how the story would unfold if he went back in time, a loud honk, blinding high-beam lights, and the sound of screeching tires assaulted his senses all at once. When he tried to hit the brakes, he felt a sudden jolt and the car flew off the ground.
In between the crunching and crashing sounds, while the car rolled on the highway, his body was experiencing severe whiplash. Finally, when the car came to a screeching halt, Vir found himself upside down in the car seat with unbearable pain all over his body.
As the light was disappearing from his eyes, he could hear footsteps approaching him and loud swearing between two people.
….
When Vir gained consciousness, he slowly opened his eyes expecting to see the white ceiling of a hospital. But what came into view was an intricately painted ceiling like the ones he had seen in hotels and old palaces.
Instead of the smell of disinfectants, he could smell floral incense. Looking around, he found himself in a large room that could be mistaken for the film set of a historical drama. Old-fashioned furniture, brass pots, and elaborate decorations could be seen everywhere.
When he tried to get up to go outside and look around, he found that he couldn't move easily. It wasn't because of injuries or anything but that his body just couldn't support itself properly. He was just in the body of a baby.
"What the fuck. What is happening? Am I still dreaming?" is what Vir wanted to say but all that came out was gibberish baby talk. His tongue wasn't developed enough to pronounce the words properly.
While Vir was confused about his situation, he saw a woman approaching him. She was wearing clothes that seemed somewhat similar to traditional clothes he knew but also quite different. It was a strange sense of dissonance just like he felt from the room.
When he awkwardly said hello, the woman seemed surprised and went out the door mumbling something. He didn't know what language she spoke but it sounded like Persian.
Vir was left there alone in confusion as he contemplated what was happening to him.
...........
Author here, I am doing a lot of research to write this story. Sometimes I even find historical details that contradict my story completely while researching something else. So I will constantly be editing the story. If you find any mistakes or inconsistencies, feel free to point them out to me. Thank you for reading. Please comment, add to the library and give me stones.