Summary: Anushka Shankar’s sitar broke despite handling fees, Air India accused of negligence,
Anushka Shankar’s precious sitar got damaged during the air travel, while handling fees were also charged from Air India for it. As soon as the video was shared on Instagram, the matter went viral and many celebs came out in support of Anushka.
Anoushka Shankar Sitar Damaged: Famous sitar player and daughter of late Pandit Ravi Shankar and Grammy nominated musician Anushka Shankar has recently accused Air India of serious negligence. He shared a video on social media and said that his precious sitar had been damaged during the air travel, even though he had paid extra charges for its safe handling. She appeared extremely hurt and distressed by this incident.
Pain spilled in Instagram video
Anushka Shankar posted an emotional video on Instagram on Wednesday, in which she showed her broken sitar and raised questions on the working style of Air India. In the video, she was seen saying that when she saw the sitar for the first time, she thought it was simply out of tune. But when he picked it up to play after tuning it properly, he realized the real loss.
He said, “I traveled by Air India after a long time. This is the same country from where this music originated. This has never happened with my instrument in the last 15-17 years.” After this, he showed the deep cracks on the sitar and asked the airline, “How did you do this? I have a special case, you also charge handling fees, still how can there be such a loss?”
‘An extremely sad and disturbing experience’
Anushka captioned her post, “The treatment meted out to my sitar by @airindia is extremely sad and disturbing. How could such damage happen without willful negligence? It’s even sadder because despite thousands of flights with other airlines over the years, my instrument has never been damaged, not even a peg has become loose.”
As soon as this post surfaced, there was a flood of reactions on social media. Along with fans, many famous artists also expressed grief over this and demanded an answer from Air India.
Celebrities expressed grief
Commenting, comedian Zakir Khan wrote, “This is extremely heartbreaking.” Meanwhile, music composer Vishal Dadlani wrote, “Oh my God, this is so sad. I am extremely sorry.” Many other artists and music lovers also voiced their support for Anushka.
Questions raised on the responsibility of the airline
After this incident, the question has once again arisen whether Indian airlines take adequate precautions regarding safe handling of expensive and sensitive musical instruments or not. Especially when additional fees are charged from passengers for this. Till now no official statement has come from Air India on this matter.
Recently received Grammy nomination
Anushka Shankar recently received multiple Grammy nominations for her new project Chapter III: We Return to Light. He has prepared this project in collaboration with Sarod player Alam Khan and percussionist Sarathi Korwar. The album received a nomination in the “Best Global Music Album” category.
The EP blends the depth of Indian classical music with the modern soundscape that has become Anushka’s signature. The 2026 Grammy Awards will be held on February 1 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Comments are closed.