66697602-The-Ramayana-R-K-Narayan

chamber or the garden. A maid told him, “She is in the kopa
gruha.”
“Why, why there?” He had had a tiring day. He had had
meetings again and again with his chief spiritual mentor,
Vasishtha, and his chief minister, Sumanthra, going into
details of arrangements for the next day’s ceremonials and
festivities. “I will be the host for the whole city tomorrow,” he
had said; “let no one feel any want.” Again and again he had
mentioned how every home and street and building should
be decorated and brightened; and how musicians, dancers,
and entertainers should be ready at the assembly hall before
the dawn, and how the state elephant and horses and
chariots should move in the procession of the newly crowned
king; and named the streets through which the procession
should pass. “People would love to see Rama on the throne
and watch him in a procession. Every man, woman, and
child must have a chance to look at him. Tell those
conducting the procession to move slowly but not so slowly
as to tire Rama… .” He had gone into every detail of the
ceremonies. Exhausted, in the evening, he sought Kaikeyi’s
company for relaxation.
He did not like the idea of being received by Kaikeyi in the
kopa gruha (the room of anger, which was a part of a
dwelling where one could retire to work off a bad mood); and
when he went in, he found her sprawling on the floor in
semidarkness, hair dishevelled, the flowers she had been