Painted in gradients and warm hues, draped in kanjeevaram sarees with flowers in their hair, the women featured in Off beat but in tune, Chennai-based illustrator and designer Aditi Maithreya's lockdown Instagram series, play traditional classical music percussion and wind instruments including the mridangam, jal tarang, nadaswaram, ghatam and even the kanjira. The visually stunning series pays tribute to women instrumentalists from the world of classical music.

Maithreya shares her inspiration saying, "The idea first struck me in the lockdown, when I came across a viral video of a woman jal tarang artiste, Shashikala Dani, playing Shankar Mahadevan's Breathless. I was stunned. When I visited musical concerts, it was common to see brilliant women vocalists, violinists and vainikas, but I hardly came across women instrumentalists or accompanists playing wind and percussion instruments. So, when I saw the artiste in the video, it piqued my curiosity to read more about other women who had stepped into this less-ventured territory and carved a niche for themselves."