Orphanage
Remaining calm in front of Fateh Chand was not something that ordinary people could manage. But Vir wasn't among the ordinary, so he calmly greeted Fateh Chand, "Greetings great-grandfather. I'm very happy to see you healthy."
"Ah. You are Manu's child, right? Has he already returned?" Fateh Chand looked at Vir with interest.
"Yes. He should already be back in Bombay. He was regretful that he couldn't meet you." Vir answered.
"It is regretful indeed. I wanted to meet that child too. He is doing quite well for himself even though he is alone. A few kids from the Delhi branch of the family are preparing to go to Bombay to settle around him so it should be easier." Fateh Chand sat down while talking.
When Fateh Chand sat down, the others also began sitting down around him. From Madhab and Swarup's greetings, Vir learned the identities of the middle-aged men who came with Fateh. They were Swarup and Madhab's fathers and uncles.
"Yeah. Brother Manu might be able to make his branch among the top family branches comparable to the Delhi, Patna, and Mysore branches." Swarup heaped compliments on Manu. The cousin he had met after many years had already become a great businessman.
"Right. He is being talked about even in Delhi and Patna. I met his father in Patna, Gopi could not stop bragging about his son." Fateh Chand chuckled.
Anand Chand, Madhab's father smiled, "Having a good son is something to be proud of."
Swarup's father Daya nodded with an equally satisfied smile. Their brothers and cousins looked at the two smiling brothers in disgust.
"Okay, you two shouldn't disgust your brothers too much. Anyway, I heard quite a bit of shouting from the room while coming in, what was being discussed before I came in?" Fateh Chand asked once more.
From his insistence and his sharp gaze aimed at Uncle 1, anyone could tell that he had heard the shouting and was aware of the discussions.
Uncle 1 knew that there was no return from here. He had to move forward with the plan that had been hastily put into motion just a few hours ago. Fateh Chand disliked incompetence more than anything. He had even appointed his grandsons over his sons based on competence.
"Grandfather, Madhab, and Swarup indulged this kid without even disciplining him. The kid is from a faraway place like Bombay, he clearly lacks discipline and needs to be educated on our family's values and traditions. He even brought stray orphans from the street to the main house."
The nervous voice of Uncle 1 tried to frantically find the best combinations of words that would accuse Madhab and Swarup of incompetence without outright saying the words. Vir caught fire on the side too as he became the cause for the whole situation.
"Hmm, I see. So that is what happened. Manu's child, you're called Vir, right? So Vir, what do you have to say about this?" Fateh Chand's sharp eyes turned to Vir.
Vir who made eye contact with Fateh Chand could see no signs of accusations or aversion, there was only interest and curiosity. "I don't think I have done anything wrong, great-grandfather."
"Oh just call me grandfather. I feel older when you call me great-grandfather." Fateh Chand interjected.
Those who were observant in the room could see that the ending of this discussion had already been finalized. Swarup was back to enjoying the drama with a smile. Even Madhab had joined him in the fun.
"Yes, grandfather. I don't think helping some orphans would be an insult to your title of Jagat Seth. If anything, it could elevate the status of our family and grandfather as an icon of generosity and compassion." Vir explained.
Uncle 1 didn't relent and countered Vir, "That still doesn't excuse bringing strays of unknown origins from the street into our house."
'Is he dumb? Why is he continuing to argue in this situation? Was he instigated by someone else? I don't think he is smart enough to plan the defamation of Madhab and Swarup."
"Uncle, people in business should never make distinctions about people based on anything like their origin, caste, or creed. The only distinctions we should have are competent and incompetent people for who will work for us, and those with money and those without money for people who will do business with us."
Swarup began clapping out of nowhere and shouted to the door, "Such a nice philosophy. We need to put it down in writing. Someone bring some paper and a pen in here."
Uncle 1 and his group were startled by Swarup's sudden actions and looked at Fateh Chand and the others to see if they would reprimand him. But what they saw was the greed and satisfaction in their eyes and smiles on their lips.
"Manu has raised his son very well. It wasn't just his luck that he is doing so well in Bombay." Anand, Madhab's father complimented. His brothers nodded and echoed the sentiment.
"Distinctions only based on competence and money." Fateh Chand mumbled. "That's right. Those are the only distinctions important for businessmen. Gopal, do you have anything more to say?"
Uncle 1's name is Gopal. Vir finally learned the name of Uncle 1. But Gopal wasn't in a good state right now. Even he wasn't dumb enough to understand that nothing he says will make a difference here. Everyone was already on the side of Madhad, Swarup, and Vir.
Frustrated, he mumbled, "Still, the main house isn't an orphanage."
Vir nodded, "That's right. I agree with Uncle. Our house isn't an orphanage. So. I had a suggestion for my grandfather. Will you hear me out?"
Swarup who was busy writing suddenly chuckled which was followed by a round of loud laughter in the room as all the elders including Fateh Chand laughed.
"He has the appearance of an adorable child but is actually like a cunning fox, hiding his fangs and waiting to trap his prey." Swarup gave an evaluation.
Fateh Chand nodded, "Go ahead. What suggestion do you have?"
"You agree with me that helping the orphans will add prestige to our family right?" Vir asked and when the old man nodded, continued, "So, why don't we establish the largest orphanage in all of Bengal in grandfather's name?"
"Tch. Just a waste of money." A retort in a low voice came back right away.
'Uncle 1, oh Uncle 1 when will you learn? But well it just helps me.'
"For generations to come, people will know the names of our grandfather and our family, immortalized in history for compassion and generosity. And running this orphanage doesn't have to be a business that only loses money. We can profit from it too."
Vir's words piqued everyone's attention. They were quite well known in the area for being a family that helps those in need with their donations and charity work. But leaving their name in history through charity was a tempting idea. On top of that, the word 'profit' was a huge bonus.
Fateh Chand asked what everyone wanted to know, "What do you mean by profiting from it?"
"I thought that if we were going to run a large orphanage anyway, we might as well spend a little more and run it like a large school. We will take care of the orphans and provide education. And when they grow up, we can choose the best of them to work for us. Won't they work diligently for us with complete loyalty?"
"Indeed, raising them by ourselves is the best way to ensure loyalty and competence. As our business keeps growing, we will continue needing more talent. I was worried that just our family members would not be enough to fill that gap in the future. This can solve the problem."
Fateh Chand positively reviewed the idea of a large orphanage school run by the family. It was beneficial in multiple ways and he could even leave a legacy beyond just the family so there was no reason not to follow Vir's plan.
"Swarup, you work out the details with Vir and create a plan that fits within a budget of around a lakh rupees. And talk with the other businessmen about donating. We need to make everyone pay for such a good thing. I'll talk to the Nawab to cough up a few ten thousand rupees as well."
Fateh Chand ordered Swarup to plan for the orphanage right away. He had seen a lot of orphans on the streets on his way back from Delhi. If he is to help, he wanted it to be fast.
(During the 1740s, the exchange rate for 1 British pound was around 1-2 rupees. The daily wage for an unskilled worker was about 2 rupees while skilled workers could get on average 10-15 rupees.
The price for 1 kg of rice was about 0.05 rupees with other daily foodstuffs like grains and oils being priced anywhere between the range of 0.02 to 0.3 rupees per kg. Even an unskilled worker would be able to live fairly well with his family in the 1740s in the Indian subcontinent.)
Vir almost jumped up to high-five with Fateh Chand in his excitement. With a budget of 1 lakh rupees per year, he could manage at least 400-500 students and 100-150 teachers.
'There is a lot of cheap farmland in Bengal. If we make the orphans grow their own food as a part of agriculture subject, we can reduce the costs even further. We may even be able to earn a profit. There are so many other ways to earn… Oh, I'm doing it again.'
Vir braked his runaway thoughts and thanked Fateh Chand, "Thank you for listening to my immature thoughts grandfather."
Fateh Chand chuckled, "Look at his silver tongue. The Maratha blood from his maternal side seems to be very thin in this one. There is no question that he is our blood."
Uncle 1, or Gopal and his group were almost forgotten by everyone else. They were excitedly talking about the plans for the orphanage and complimenting Vir for being a smart child. The discussions for the naming of the orphanage also came up.
Madhab suggested, "How about naming it 'Jagat Seth Fateh Chand Orphanage'? Since people know our family as Jagat Seths this name would represent both grandfather and our family."
Everyone nodded in agreement and turned to look at Fateh Chand who gave his consent with a nod, "Do it that way. It would be good to tell the larger branch families to establish an orphanage in their regions as well. It doesn't have to be as big as the one here but raising orphans to work for us is a great idea even for branch families. The social prestige is just another bonus."
Fateh Chand who was eager to leave behind a legacy thought of the family heads in the branch families who would have similar thoughts. He decided to share this good thing with everyone.
"I'll send out letters to the other families after Swarup finalizes the plan." Madhab understood the implicit orders from his grandfather and responded right away.
Fateh Chand turned to Gopal's group again, "Now that everything is settled, why don't you guys tell me how your business is going? Are you not planning to go somewhere new and start a branch?"
Gopal cringed at the questions and silently put his down. There was no way Fateh Chand didn't know about his loss of a large sum of money by being scammed by a merchant from China.
As for leaving Murshidabad, he barely makes a living here by using the family's influence. What will he do in a place where he has to start from scratch?
"Grandfather, isn't Vir's plan really great? Even the incompetent members of our family might be able to go out and make something of themselves if they take the orphans trained by Vir." Swarup was feeling playful and took a jab at Gopal's group.
Fateh Chand silently looked at Gopal's group with contempt and disgust.
(Author's note: I tried looking for data regarding the exchange rates during the period of the 1740s but I couldn't find any accurate records regarding this time. Most research papers only work with data from the end of the 18th century and the early 1800s.
So to approximate the exchange rate, I checked through the records of prices for agricultural products which were the easiest for me to find.
After comparing the prices of grains, the exchange rates in the later years when records existed, and some general deductions based on the business degree I got years ago, I decided on the exchange rate of 1 pound to 1-2 rupees in the 1740s.
During this time, the British Empire was still not powerful enough to overwhelm the Indian empires. India was a major exporting country with its share in the global GDP being almost 25%, and its imports were incomparably lower than its exports.
For reference, in the 1750s 1 British pound would get you about 13-14 kg of wheat in London, while in Bengal, 1 Rupee would get you 35-36 kg of wheat.
Of course, there are factors like shipping costs and whatnot but I'm writing historical fiction, not a research paper so I think my approximation is good enough for now.)
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