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CHAPTER 5<br />
Tribe of Brahma<br />
Shiva was walking in the verdant gardens of the royal guest house. His things were being<br />
moved into the royal guest house by Nandi and Kanakhala’s efficient aide. Shiva sat down on a<br />
comfortable bench overlooking a bed of red and white roses. The charming cool breeze in the<br />
open gardens brought a smile to his face. It was early afternoon and the garden was deserted.<br />
Shiva’s thoughts kept going back to the conversation he had had with the Emperor in the<br />
morning. Despite Daksha’s controlled reaction, Shiva could understand that his blue throat was<br />
of great significance to the Meluhans, even to the Emperor. It meant that the legend of the<br />
Neelkanth, whatever it was, was not restricted to some small sect in Kashmir. If the Emperor<br />
himself took it so seriously, all of Meluha must need the help of the Neelkanth.<br />
But what the bloody hell do they want help for? They are so much more advanced than us!<br />
His thoughts were distracted by the sounds of a dhol, a percussion instrument and some<br />
ghungroos, anklets worn by dancers. Someone seemed to be practising in the garden. A<br />
hedge separated the dance pavilion from the rest of the garden. Shiva, himself a passionate<br />
dancer, would normally have stepped in to move to the rhythm of the beat, but his mind was<br />
preoccupied. Some words floated in from the group that was dancing.<br />
‘No my lady, you must let yourself go,’ said a distinguished male voice. ‘It’s not a chore that<br />
you have to do. Enjoy the dance. You are trying too hard to remember all the steps rather than<br />
letting the emotion of the dance flow through you.’<br />
Then a lady’s voice interjected. ‘My lady, Guruji is right. You are dancing correcdy, but not<br />
enjoying it. The concentration shows on your face. You have to relax a little bit.’<br />
‘Let me get the steps right first. Then I can learn to enjoy them.’<br />
The last voice made Shiva’s hair stand up on end. It was her. It was Sati. He quickly got up<br />
and followed the sound of the voices. Coming up from behind the hedge, he saw Sati dancing<br />
on a small platform. She had her hands raised rigidly to her sides as she enacted the various<br />
movements of the dance. She danced in accordance with the steps first to the left and then to<br />
the right. She moved her shapely hips to the side and placed her hands precisely on her waist,<br />
to convey the mood of the dance. He was mesmerised once again.<br />
However, he did notice that though Sati was dancing all her steps correctly, the Guruji was<br />
right. She was moving in a mechanical manner; the uninhibited surrender that is characteristic of<br />
a natural dancer was absent. The varying emotions of bliss and anger of the story being told<br />
were missing in her moves. And unlike a proficient dancer, Sati wasn’t using the entire platform.<br />
Her steps were small, which kept her movements constricted to the centre.<br />
The dance teacher sat facing her and playing on a dhol to give Sati her beats. Her<br />
companion Krittika sat to the right. It was the dance teacher who noticed Shiva first and<br />
immediately stood up. Sati and Krittika turned around as well and were clearly astonished to