Anoushka Shankar Slams Air India After Sitar Damage, Calls Experience ‘Devastating’
Grammy-nominated artist Anoushka Shankar criticises Air India after her sitar was damaged during travel. She calls the experience “devastating” and questions the airline’s handling.
Multiple Grammy-nominated sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar has called out Air India publicly after discovering severe damage to her sitar following a recent flight. The musician expressed deep disappointment, saying she was “devastated” by the airline’s handling of her instrument, especially since she was charged an additional handling fee.
‘How Have You Done This?’: Anoushka Shares Video Of Broken Sitar
The daughter of legendary maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar took to Instagram on Wednesday, sharing a video that showed visible cracks on her sitar. In the clip, Anoushka is heard saying, “First, I was looking at the top of my sitar and I thought it was really out of tune. After I tuned it, I picked it up to play and that’s when I realised…This was my first time flying Air India in a long time. You’re the country this music belongs to. This is the first time anything like this has happened to my instrument in 15 or 17 years.”
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She then questioned the airline’s negligence, adding, “How have you done this? I have special cases, you charge a handling fee and yet you’ve done this?”
Her caption conveyed even stronger disappointment: “Devastated and truly disturbed by @airindia’s treatment of my sitar. How on earth does damage like this happen without willful disregard? It feels especially sad given that I’ve flown Air India after a long time, and it seems an Indian instrument can’t be safe with them—after all the thousands of flights taken on other airlines without even a peg going out of tune.”
Fans, Artists React: ‘Heartbreaking’
The post drew immediate reactions from the music community. Comedian Zakir Khan responded, “This is extremely heartbreaking,” while composer Vishal Dadlani added, “God, that’s heartbreaking! I’m so sorry.”
Fresh Grammy Nominations Add To Emotional Moment
The incident comes just weeks after Anoushka received multiple Grammy nominations for Chapter III: We Return to Light, her collaboration with Alam Khan and Sarathy Korwar. The project has been nominated in the Best Global Music Album category for the 2026 Grammy Awards, scheduled for February 1 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
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