Illustration/Devdutt Pattanaik

In Kalidasa's works we hear descriptions of women being invited to the king's garden to sing, dance, play and laugh. The laughter of women, it was said, would make the trees burst into flowers. Their laughter was an expression of their sense of security and happiness. It was captured on temple walls, and borders of Buddhist stupas. It created a ring of positive energy, keeping out the negative.