Archana Prasanna

An Auspicious Beginning Archana Prasanna

An Auspicious Beginning is the story of Leela, daughter of a renowned but impoverished master of a classical Indian instrument called the veena. She moves with her family to a palace where her father has been hired to play for the Maharaja. Just as the family is getting accustomed to their new life, English colonialists begin tightening their grip on Indian culture as a means of consolidating occupational power. As per Indian tradition, women were barred from playing music publicly, but Leela's talent and passion for music as well as her spiritual connection to the veena becomes a means to defy the patriarchy. This story is her journey of navigating her responsibilities as a wife and mother and defying tradition and British rule, to pursue the art form she is so passionate about.