The conventional insistence on the yoga posture, though, had its flip side. For centuries, the rudra veena failed to get a female practitioner as the general belief was that the weighty instrument with baritone sounds could be harmful for the uterus. Down south of the country, Karnataka’s Jyoti Hegde broke that taboo in the last quarter of the previous century. Now in her middle age, the native of Sirsi in North Kanara district began learning the rudra veena when she was 16, weathering ripples of apprehensions and disapproval from the art fraternity around. Today, Jyoti is a noted rudra veena player, having earned ‘A’ grade from All India Radio after having completed her music course from Karnatak University in upstate Dharwad. “I am married, we have a son,” she says, with a smirk, tacitly allaying fears about the “anatomical troubles” that rudra veena-playing can invite.