Chapter 1: GANDHI OF INDIA
The Three Pillars of India
So Gandhi invents the concept of 'Property' and decides most of the world belongs to him. The Indian Monarchy is established in 2375BC.
The very same year, the city of Bombay is founded. Long live His Majesty, King Gandhi of India!
Tacitus declares that Glorious Turkestan is the most cultured nation in the world, followed by India the Great. Hopeless Korea is seventh and last.
Some three hundred years later, Chuang-tzu is born in Delhi and I am prompted to pick a religion. As Gandhi of India, I choose (what else?) Hinduism.
Hinduism is founded in Bombay but I continue building a Monument there. It's slated to be one of my three Legendary cities, remember.
I also discover turtles in the lake by Delhi. That's nice, I suppose. (If only I knew Fishing...) Meanwhile, Sejong founds his third city, Wonsan, and discovers Record Keeping. (I can tell because he can now sign Open Borders. I go ahead and accept.) Meanwhile, Mehmed completes The Oracle in Istanbul. (Drats! I was hoping to build that.)
This is seriously NOT good.

Not only does Mehmed get a free technology, he is accumulating Great Prophet points in his capital. I expect him to found Islam any day now. (And maybe even a second religion later.) I don't want to deal with religious tensions so I decide not to adopt Hinduism. If I play nice, Mehmed might spread Islam to me; that will help with diplomacy and with my Culture Victory. (Of course, I still don't know where Mehmed
is. My Scout and an exploring Warrior were both killed by barbarian Warriors.)
Once I discover Calendar, I adopt Tradition and Agrarianism:
These three civics are the three pillars of ancient India. Monarchy and Agrarianism greatly enhance my production and commerce; I will follow them for a long, long time.
Tradition, I might keep for the rest of the game, if I stick to a Culture Victory.
Then: DISASTER!
The barbarians found Alemanni right next to my planned third city site!
(Note: Even on Immortal, barbarian cities in HR spawn with Warrior defenders. Why is that? It's because, in BtS, the AI starts with Archery for free on Monarch and above. And that includes the barbarians.)
Well, Alemanni must BURN!

With four Warriors on defense, Archers won't cut it. And Axemen will take too long to train and reach the city, even assuming I have Copper. Chariots are my only option. I switch research to The Wheel and plant my third city by those Horses near Korea. It won't be much of a city; but what choice do I have?
Cursing my luck, I found Vijayanagara in 2000BC. To my surprise, it picks up a third resource in the fog:
And I think: Vijay is not so bad. Sure, it has very little food and many Mountain tiles; but it has three resources, weak though they are, and a river. With some help from settled Great Artists, it might just be my third Legendary City. It will certainly have a head start on any other cities I found. And I'm not looking to break any records here. And I can tailor that amazing river city for research, instead. (Can you tell I'm desperate for a silver lining?)
Here is where my research stands:
I've been following a pretty standard path: first, my starting techs (Carving, Ceremonial Burial); second, techs that unlock improvements (Pottery, Pastoralism, Agriculture); third, techs that unlock civics (Property, Ritual, Calendar); fourth, techs that unlock military (The Wheel). I have lots of options moving forward: Hunting for Camps, Fishing/Sailing for Fishing Boats, Mining/Masonry for Stone and The Pyramids, or Oratory for Theatres. I don't need more military immediately if I have Chariots, which rules out Archery, Riding, and Bronze Working. And Divination is not worth it without The Oracle.
Well, it's 2000BC: 60 turns in, or 10% of the game. Here are some final shots of my empire and its demographics. (Look: someone has almost twice my GNP!)
Delhi, Bombay, and Vijayanagara:
also the three pillars of ancient India. And soon to be three shining beacons of culture for the world.
I'll play more turns later this week. Wish me luck!
To Be Continued...