The World of Courtesans c8.149

c8.149

In order to woo the girl the prospective suitor spent his time with her picking flowers for garland-making. He helped her to build toy houses (*griahakam*), arranged for her doll-play (*duhitrika krida*), the dolls being made of rags and wood etc. He cooked food in her company. This was all done taking into consideration the age of the girl. Girls usually played such games as throwing dice (*akarsha krida*), knitting borders (*pattika krida*), or games where one had to guess the identity of things held in closed fists (*mushti dyuta*), or point out correctly the middle finger held in a changed position etc. in the closed fist (*madhyama-anguli-grahanam*). They liked the game of six pebbles (*shatpashanaka*) in which the pebbles were thrown up from the lap and received on the reverse of the hand, etc. The youthful lover tried to gain her confidence and joined the group of players.