RAYGISTAN PROCLAIMED, SUPREME LIFESTYLES PROMISED

[Here is a chapter from my political novel The Merchant King, published in India in 2012. Have fun reading!]

RAYGISTAN PROCLAIMED, SUPREME LIFESTYLES PROMISED

In the middle of his intense learning process, there was some disturbing news that made Falcon restless. Some youth from Balad who had left years ago to fight alongside the Mujahideen against Soviet forces in Afghanistan had returned after the war there ended.

Among them was Falcon's half brother Fahd, born to their father's Yemeni wife Zainab. Fahd returned with his Pakistani wife Gulbadan, who was from Peshawar. The group of returnees wanted to create a Kindom-style ruling system. Senior Kindom operatives, called Kindominions, channelled funds and military advice to the Mujahideen and Fahd remained loyal to them.

Balad's emergence as a strategic port between Africa and Miserabilia was not lost on Kindom's rulers. They would be fool not to have it under their sphere of influence. The man who could do their bidding was Fahd.

The island's doddering chieftain Nasir was increasingly behaving in unpredictable ways. It was a sad sight to see him waving with both hands and sending flying kisses to British Fly's female crew who flocked to the beach in their bikinis.

The high council of elders sought to restrict his movement outdoors in order to avoid embarrassment. Balad was no longer the obscure nation it once had been.

Neolandia wanted the guarantee of a continued military base. President Henry made it clear that he would prefer an amenable man like Falcon, who was kept abreast of the situation. It was agreed with ConCorp that Falcon would soon return to Balad to take over the reins.

But before that a quick visit to the great city of glamour, Uhlalaland. Balad could never become a destination for Supreme Lifestyles if the leader of that country was not given a glimpse of the glitzy world.

Before going to Uhlalaland, ConCorp wanted Falcon to meet a group of people. ConCorp collected considerable data on people who could help Balad's transformation into an economic superpower. On the top of the list was Balwinder Singh "Bally", an Indian geek who worked on a Neolandian project that would make the painfully slow Internet a thing of the past.

The second was Hyder Ali "Hey", an extraordinary brain who could unravel any tricky problem in money matters. He was of Pakistani origin and had fled his country after his wife's relatives bayed for his blood because he had dared to marry the girl of a tribe that considered itself higher in social status than his lesser Karachi family.

The third was Sulaiman Isa "Suli." He was an expert in real estate. He came from the island of Khalli Walli and had sailed around the world offering his expertise.

Bally, Hey and Suli were convenient, modified names that were easy on Neolandian tongues.

"With these men in top jobs, Balad won't look like a white man's colony," Benjamin joked with ConCorp.

One urgent matter that nagged Falcon was the issue of succession, which could turn into a crisis if the old man Nasir kicked the bucket. There was a real chance of violence breaking out as Fahd and his supporters were capable of anything when challenged.

Benjamin, on the other hand, was thinking about a grand farewell for the man who would be king.

Putschinsky graciously agreed to host it at his Grand Sunray Hotel and Casino, the Sunray business empire's showpiece location in Uhlalaland.

An international fashion show at the hotel had just ended, so Putschinsky, knowing well that he was going to be entertaining some of Neolandia's most influential people at the hotel, asked the fashion models to enjoy his hospitality for a bit longer. This was Putschinsky's idea of adding glamour to the party.

Putschinsky, being smarter than others in the ways of the world, had set his sights on doing business in Balad.

Benjamin was always precise and immaculate with his planning. He could stage-manage spectacular events that left people thinking they had happened spontaneously.

On the guest list: Senators, casino magnets, real estate developers, drug traffickers with front companies involved in legal businesses, diamond merchants, financiers, ship owners, oil and gas chief executives, film directors, actors, book publishers, diplomats, newspaper editors had all come to the party in honor of "Neolandia's Great Friend in Miserabilia."

That is how Big Bucks and ConCorp had advertised the event. Crown Prince Falcon delivered a speech that was high on promises and direct in its message. It lifted everyone's spirits. It is not everyday that one gets to be at a party full of fashion models and a brand new nation is suddenly proclaimed into being. "Our dear Neolandian friends, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen," Falcon began his address, "we are about to embark on a great journey of nation-building. Together we will create and share the biggest cake of globalization. Come to our nation, Raygistan, and you will have a market of four billion consumers eating out of your hand. Ours maybe a barren land, but those who decide to put in money today will enjoy an eternal harvest of Supreme Lifestyles."

This was not a speech written by professional writers. It sounded like a human being speaking from his heart. No spin of words, pure passion.

"Raygistan" was the word that had surprised Benjanim. What was Falcon talking about?

Another point: Balad's own population was hardly 100,000, a company-size country, but the crown prince was promising a market of four billion consumers!

That was a salesman genius talking, Benjanim thought.

Cynical newspaper editors thought the crown prince had dreamt up some fantasy land, but senators and businessmen saw more clearly the vision of a land where people would live Supreme Lifestyles.

The speech ended with a deafening applause.

But the term Raygistan puzzled Benjamin, so he went to clarify it with Falcon.

"You have Hindustan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, right? We have chosen a new name for our country. Balad doesn't sound like a proper country. Now we call my country Raygistan."

At Putschinsky's casino, the future king of Raygistan had set the dice rolling for the biggest gamble that a nation could play.