Immortals of Meluha (12 page)
CHAPTER 5
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 find Shiva standing in front of them. Unlike Sati, Krittika could not control her surprise and blurted out, ‘Shiva?’
Sati, in her characteristic composed and restrained manner, asked sincerely, ‘Is everything alright, Shiva? Do you need my help for something?’
How have you been? I’ve missed you. Don’t you ever smile?
Shiva continued to stare at Sati, the words running through his mind, not on his lips. A smiling Krittika looked at Sati for her reaction. An even more serious Sati repeated, very politely, ‘Can I help you with something, Shiva?’
‘No, no, I don’t need any help,’ replied Shiva as reality seemed to enter his consciousness again. ‘I just happened to be in the area and heard your dancing. I mean your talk. Your dance steps were not so hard that I could hear it. You were dancing very accurately. Actually, technically it was all...’
Krittika interjected. ‘You know a bit about dancing, do you?’
‘Oh, not much. Just a little,’ said Shiva to Krittika with a smile, before turning rapidly back to Sati. ‘My apologies Sati, but Guruji is right. You were being far too methodical. As they say in the land that I come from, the
mudras
and the
kriyas
were all technically correct. But the
bhav
or emotion was missing. And a dance without bhav is like a body without a soul. When the emotions of the dancer participate, she would not even need to remember the steps. The steps come on their own. The bhav is something that you cannot learn. It comes to you if you can create the space in your heart for it.’
Sati listened patiently to Shiva without saying a word. Her eyebrows were raised slightly as the barbarian spoke. How could he know more than a Suryavanshi about dancing? But she reminded herself that he had saved her life. She was duty bound to honour him.
Krittika, however, took offence at this caste-unmarked foreigner pretending that he knew more about dancing than her mistress. She glowered at Shiva. ‘You dare to think that you know more than one of the best dancers in the realm?’
Shiva gathered he may have caused some offence. He turned to Sati in all seriousness. ‘I am terribly sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you in any way. Sometimes I just keep talking without realising what I am saying.’
‘No, no’, replied Sati. ‘You did not insult me. Perhaps you are right. I don’t feel the essence of the dance as much as I should. But I am sure that with Guruji’s guidance, I will pick it up in due time.’
Seizing his chance to impress Sati, Shiva said, ‘If it is alright with you, may I perform the dance? I am sure that I am not as technically correct as you. But perhaps, there may be something in the sentiment that will guide me through the correct steps.’
That was wellput! She can’t say no!
Sati looked surprised. This was unexpected. ‘Umm, okay,’ she managed to say.
A delighted Shiva immediately moved to the centre of the stage. He took off the angvastram covering his upper body and tossed it aside. Krittika’s quick anger at the perceived insult to her mistress was forgotten quickly as she sighed at Shiva’s rippling physique. Sati, though, began to wonder how Shiva would bend such a muscular body into the contortions that were required for this style of dancing. Flexibility was usually sacrificed by a human body at the altar of strength.
Playing lightly on his dhol, the Guruji asked Shiva, ‘Tell me the beat that you are comfortable with, young man.’
Shiva folded his hands into a namaste, bent low and said, ‘Guruji, could you just give me a minute please? I need to prepare for the dance.’
Dancing was something Shiva knew as well as warfare. Facing east, he closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly. Then he bent down on his knees and reverentially touched the ground with his head. Standing up, he turned his right foot outwards. Then he raised his left leg off the floor in a graceful arching movement till the foot was above knee height, as he bent his right knee slightly to balance himself. His left foot pointed in a direction exactly between the bearing of his right foot and his face. Only a calm breeze broke the almost deathly silence that enveloped the audience. The Guruji, Sati and Krittika looked in amazement at Shiva. They did not understand what he was doing but could feel the energy that Shiva’s stance was emanating.
Shiva raised both his arms in an elegant circular movement to the sides to bring them in line with his shoulder. His right hand was moulded into a position like it was holding an imaginary
dumru
, a small, handheld percussion instrument. His left hand was open with its palm facing upward, almost like it was receiving some divine energy. He held this pose for some time; as his glowing face showed that Shiva was withdrawing into his own world. Then his right hand moved effortlessly forward, almost as if it had a mind of its own. Its palm was now open and facing the audience. Somehow, the posture seemed to convey a feeling of protection to a very surprised Sati. His left arm then moved slowly from its shoulder height position to come in front of him with the palm facing down. The left arm stopped moving when the hand was pointing almost directiy at the left foot. Shiva held this pose for some time. And then began the dance.
Sati stared in wonder at Shiva. He was performing the same steps as her. Yet it looked like a completely different dance. His hands moved effortlessly as his body moved almost magically.
How could a body this muscular also be so flexible? The Guruji tried helplessly to get his dhol to give Shiva the beats. But clearly that wasn’t necessary. For it was Shiva’s feet which were leading the beat for the dhol!
The dance conveyed the various emotions of a woman. At the beginning it conveyed her feelings of joy and lust as she cavorted with her husband. Then it conveyed her fury and pain on the wrongful death of her mate. Even with Shiva’s rough masculine body, he managed to convey the tender yet strong emotions of a grieving woman.
Shiva’s eyes were open. But the audience realised that he was oblivious to them. Shiva was in his own world. He did not dance for the audience. He did not dance for appreciation. He did not dance for the music. He danced only for himself. Rather, it almost seemed like his dance was guided by a celestial force. Sati realised that Shiva was right. He had opened himself and the dance had come to him.
After what seemed like an eternity the dance came to an end, with Shiva firmly shutting his eyes. He held the final pose for a long time as the glow slowly left him. It was almost like he was returning to this world. Shiva gradually opened his eyes to find Sati, Krittika and the Guruji gaping at him in complete awe.
The Guruji was the first to find his voice. ‘Who are you?’
‘I am Shiva.’
‘No, no. Not the body. I meant who are
you?
’
Shiva crooked his eyes together in a frown and repeated, ‘I am Shiva.’
‘Guruji, may I ask a question?’ asked Sati.
‘Of course you may.’
Turning to Shiva, Sati asked, ‘What was that you did before the dance? Was it some kind of preparatory step?’
‘Yes. It’s called the
Natarajpose.
The pose of
the Lord of dance!
‘The Nataraj pose? What does it do?’
‘It aligned my energy to the universal energy so that the dance emerges on its own.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘Well, it’s like this: amongst our people, we believe that everything in the world is a carrier of
shakti
or
energy
. The plants, animals, objects, our bodies, everything carries and transmits energy. But the biggest carrier of energy that we are physically in touch with is Mother Earth herself — the ground that we walk on.’
‘What does that have to do with your dance?’
‘For anything that you do, you need energy. You have to source the energy around you. The energy comes from people, from objects, from Mother Earth herself. You have to ask for that energy respectfully.’
‘And your Nataraj pose helps you to access any energy that you want?’ asked the Guruji.
‘It depends on what I want the energy for. The Nataraj pose helps me to ask respectfully for energy for a dance that wants to come to me. If I wanted the energy for a thought to come to me, I would have to sit cross-legged and meditate.’
‘It seems that the energy favours you, young man,’ said the Guruji. ‘You are the
Nataraj, the Lord of dance!
’
‘Oh no!’ exclaimed Shiva. ‘I am just a medium of the boundless Nataraj energy. Anyone can be the medium.’
‘Well, then you are a particularly efficient medium, young man,’ said the Guruji. Turning to Sati, he said, ‘You don’t need me if you have a friend like him, my child. If you want to be taught by Shiva, it would be my honour to excuse myself.’
Shiva looked at Sati expectantly. This had gone much better than he expected.
Say yes, dammit!
Sati however seemed to withdraw into herself. Shiva was starded to see the first signs of vulnerability in this woman. She bowed her head, an act which did not suit her proud bearing and whispered softly, ‘I mean no disrespect to anyone, but perhaps I do not have the skills to receive training of this level.’
‘But you do have the skill,’ argued Shiva. ‘You have the bearing. You have the heart. You can very easily reach that level.’
Sati looked up at Shiva, her eyes showing just the slightest hint of dampness. The profound sadness they conveyed took Shiva aback.
What the hell is going on?
‘I am very far from any level, Shiva,’ mumbled Sati.
As she said that, Sati found the strength to control herself again. The politely proud manner returned to her face. The mask was back. ‘It is time for my puja. With your permission Guruji, I must leave.’ She turned towards Shiva. ‘It was a pleasure meeting you again Shiva.’
Before Shiva could respond, Sati turned quickly and left, followed by Krittika.
The Guruji continued to stare at a flummoxed Shiva. At length, he bent low with a formal namaste towards Shiva and said, ‘It has been my life’s honour to see you dance.’
Then he too turned and left. Shiva was left wondering at the inscrutable ways of the Meluhans.
