CHAPTER 5

Tribe of Brahma

Shiva was walking in the verdant gardens of the royal guest house. His things were being
moved into the royal guest house by Nandi and Kanakhala’s efficient aide. Shiva sat down on a
comfortable bench overlooking a bed of red and white roses. The charming cool breeze in the
open gardens brought a smile to his face. It was early afternoon and the garden was deserted.
Shiva’s thoughts kept going back to the conversation he had had with the Emperor in the
morning. Despite Daksha’s controlled reaction, Shiva could understand that his blue throat was
of great significance to the Meluhans, even to the Emperor. It meant that the legend of the
Neelkanth, whatever it was, was not restricted to some small sect in Kashmir. If the Emperor
himself took it so seriously, all of Meluha must need the help of the Neelkanth.
But what the bloody hell do they want help for? They are so much more advanced than us!
His thoughts were distracted by the sounds of a dhol, a percussion instrument and some
ghungroos, anklets worn by dancers. Someone seemed to be practising in the garden. A
hedge separated the dance pavilion from the rest of the garden. Shiva, himself a passionate
dancer, would normally have stepped in to move to the rhythm of the beat, but his mind was
preoccupied. Some words floated in from the group that was dancing.
‘No my lady, you must let yourself go,’ said a distinguished male voice. ‘It’s not a chore that
you have to do. Enjoy the dance. You are trying too hard to remember all the steps rather than
letting the emotion of the dance flow through you.’
Then a lady’s voice interjected. ‘My lady, Guruji is right. You are dancing correcdy, but not
enjoying it. The concentration shows on your face. You have to relax a little bit.’
‘Let me get the steps right first. Then I can learn to enjoy them.’
The last voice made Shiva’s hair stand up on end. It was her. It was Sati. He quickly got up
and followed the sound of the voices. Coming up from behind the hedge, he saw Sati dancing
on a small platform. She had her hands raised rigidly to her sides as she enacted the various
movements of the dance. She danced in accordance with the steps first to the left and then to
the right. She moved her shapely hips to the side and placed her hands precisely on her waist,
to convey the mood of the dance. He was mesmerised once again.
However, he did notice that though Sati was dancing all her steps correctly, the Guruji was
right. She was moving in a mechanical manner; the uninhibited surrender that is characteristic of
a natural dancer was absent. The varying emotions of bliss and anger of the story being told
were missing in her moves. And unlike a proficient dancer, Sati wasn’t using the entire platform.
Her steps were small, which kept her movements constricted to the centre.
The dance teacher sat facing her and playing on a dhol to give Sati her beats. Her
companion Krittika sat to the right. It was the dance teacher who noticed Shiva first and
immediately stood up. Sati and Krittika turned around as well and were clearly astonished to