During that time, Kirtidev, Katyayani's grandfather, found it difficult to pay attention to her while recovering from his grief.
As for the rest of the family, she was grateful for their indifference since it helped her not build any attachment or expectations.
Choosing to spend nine months of a year in the temple located on the Mandh Mountain, Katyayani had diminished, rather nearly removed her presence in the Bali family in the past few years.
At the age of six, when she first came here with her four attendants to offer homage on behalf of her parents, she fell in love with the mountain and its proud countenance. All of this was, of course, in tandem with her mother's last set of wishes.
With her paternal grandfather's permission, she decided to shift her base here that year onwards with her four attendants. Henceforth, she only went back to her paternal house located in Dima, capital city of the kingdom of Mandhaar, during the last quarter of the year.
Unfortunately, that period had arrived yet again. Soon, the entire terrain of Mandh mountain would be submerged under thick blocks of snow, making it tough to survive here.
Katyayani breathed out a quiet sigh, which exited from her mouth like a puff of smoke. She had hoped that there would still be some time left before heading back to the city. But the chilly frost of this morning was enough to force her into shedding her reluctance.
Just one more year to go!
"You are back, Young Miss! How was your workout?" It was the ever smiling Eka who greeted Katyayani and Trini outside the cabin.
She had just managed to finish her morning chores, with the help of Dvi and Chatvari.
"I beat her hollow again today," said Trini with a poker face.
Katyayani grimaced and frowned at her. "I will return it to you tenfold someday."
Though the words were a challenging promise, her tone remained unfailingly polite, as if they were discussing the weather.
Dvi came walking towards them from the backyard and gave her an encouraging laugh. "Yes, you must! It is becoming tougher everyday to tolerate Trini's superiority complex. If she inflates any further, I am afraid she will float away in the air someday!"
Trini glared at the gorgeous woman in front of her and said, "It is time for you to prepare Young Miss's bath. Stop wasting time uttering nonsense here."
Eka's duties consisted of managing the household, cooking and imparting soft skills like accounting, reading scripture to Katyayani.
On the other hand, Katyayani had learnt the Kathak dance form since the age of six from Dvi. She had also received the teachings on how to play the sitar*.
Even though Katyayani hadn't mastered her scriptures yet, she was almost a prodigy in her dance and instrument playing. Mandodari, her old nanny, had taught her the rare secret behind the mystic ragas* which made her stand well apart from fellow learners.
Leaving the grinning Eka and scowling Trini behind, Katyayani followed Dvi to go inside the cabin.
Looking at her swaying hips, Katyayani thought to herself that if put to test someday, Dvi would arguably be the best seductress in the kingdom of Mandhaar.
But what mattered to Katyayani was that she was a better masseuse. Dvi's flexible, soft fingers were nothing short of magic. With her extensive knowledge of a body's pressure points, she could make a person reach an orgasm or get killed, within a matter of minutes.
"Lie down. Let me help you relax those sore muscles," said Dvi and indicated towards the jute mat which was on the ground.
Katyayani's body had been nurtured and tempered under the careful ministrations of Dvi and Chatvari since a young age.
Since Dvi was extremely proficient in massages and acupuncture, she had shaped and moulded Katyayani's body into an enviable hourglass figure.
On the other hand, Chatvari was in-charge of monitoring and enriching Katyayani's internal growth. While the tonics in her childhood helped in immunity building and nourishment, Katyayani's diet underwent a complete change when she first got her periods.
Using a secret recipe, Chatvari had been tempering her body since the age of thirteen to ensure that she developed properly and was ready for womanhood.
Due to their combined efforts, Katyayani's skin resembled a ripe peach and her figure could really rival that of a siren.
But it was a shame that there was no one to appreciate this beauty apart from the four handmaidens!
Over the years, Dvi had done her best to teach Katyayani different variations to the classical dance form which if ever presented, could make a man forget himself.
Katyayani didn't show much enthusiasm about the whole thing, and only took it as another form of exercise. But she persevered enough to pass Dvi's exacting demands.
Despite all her hard work, much to her consternation, Dvi had failed in making the girl attain any sort of proficiency in the field of Kamasutra*.
To be fair, the fault didn't lay with her!
Dvi had started imparting this art to her at the age of fourteen but Katyayani remained indifferent to it.
Dvi lamented that this subject needed practical experience more than theoretical knowledge. Unfortunately, Katyayani couldn't care less about any guy nor did she think that there was any advantage in seducing one.
In her opinion, she had much better things to do to pass her free time than waste it on the imbecile creature called men!
She would much rather utilise the time in learning about various medicines and their effects from Chatvari, even though the names were tough and the descriptions were confusing. At least, there was a learning value attached to it.
What was the benefit of squandering one's time on a guy???
"Ah… yes, that's the place where Trini hit me again and again today," Katyayani's voice could be heard even outside the massage room.
This room had four fireplaces burning simultaneously and maintained a high temperature, conducive for various beauty treatments which Katyayani was subjected to!
After a rigorous massage which helped ease the knots in her back and shoulders, Katyayani got up and walked towards the area behind the wide silk screen. She stepped into the large steaming wooden tub, which contained many herbs mixed in the hot water.
With a hiss, she lowered her body into the oval rosewood tub which was gleaming with the droplets on its smooth edges. Her sore body was mildly throbbing under the soft lashing of the water.
Even though Katyayani had lived a tough and disciplined life during the past ten years, she liked to indulge in the best of things, whether it was the quality of her clothes or the things she used or the surroundings.
Everything was that befitting a queen!
Using a loofah made from a gourd, she scrubbed her skin thoroughly, opening up those pores which had been clogged with sweat and dirt, accumulated during her workout on the mountain. After about ten minutes of soaking in, Katyayani stepped out and lowered herself into the fragrant, cold water tub which had been placed nearby.
"Argh!" The sound escaped her mouth involuntarily as the body collided with the icy cold temperature of the water.
The cold water had been infused with slices of lemon and oranges for the past one hour. After an excruciating toruture of ten minutes, Katyayani called out to Dvi who was waiting outside to help her dress up.
Since she was living in the mountains, with no one to please except herself, Katyayani preferred wearing light hued clothes. Today's dress was a pale blue voluminous skirt with a white short top, showing her firm, pale abdomen.
She didn't like wearing too many layers despite the cold weather. Used to tempering her body with vigorous exercise and a healthy diet, Katyayani wasn't affected by the climate as much.
On the first look, the dress seemed to be ordinary but it was made out of the finest Angora silk thread, which was sourced from another country, especially for Katyayani's wardrobe.
The lower panels of the skirt and the puffed up sleeves of the top had exquisite Madhubani* embroidery on them, giving Katyayani an ethereal look. The fabric was thin and soft but also warm.
Her fair skin had turned red after the harsh regime of hot and cold bath. Her cheeks and lips had a natural blush, as if she had just been loved thoroughly by a guy.
"Sigh! You put my efforts to an absolute naught. If there was a young, strapping man standing here instead of me, he would have lost his soul at the ravishing sight that you make. But you, cold hearted girl, are wasting your youth by living a monk's life. At your age, I had a village full of boys chasing after me," Dvi continued to rant while wiping the waist length hair of her mistress with a soft towel.
*Sitar - a plucked stringed instrument
*Kamasutra - is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life.
*Madhubani - an art form characterized by drawings filled in by bright colours and contrasts or patterns, containing tribal motifs and use of bright earthy colours