Anoushka Shankar calls out Air India for damaging her sitar despite handling fee: You’re the country this music belongs to...

Anoushka Shankar slams Air India

Anoushka Shankar, one of the world’s most celebrated contemporary sitar players, has been heartbroken after finding her sitar badly damaged during a trip with Air India.

The daughter of the legendary Pandit Ravi Shankar, Anoushka expressed her sorrow on Instagram. She posted a video showing the cracks on her beloved sitar.

In the video, she recounts the moment she realised something was wrong. “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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A post shared by Anoushka Shankar (@anoushkashankarofficial)

Holding up the damaged instrument, she questioned how such negligence could have occurred, especially after paying for special care. “How have you done this? I have special cases, you charge a handling fee and yet you’ve done this?” she asked, her voice filled with hurt and disbelief.

Her caption painted an even more painful picture: “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 thousand of flights taken on other airlines without even a peg going out of tune.”

The post struck a chord instantly. Fans, fellow musicians, and colleagues flooded the comments with empathy. Comedian Zakir Khan wrote, “This is extremely heartbreaking,” while music composer Vishal Dadlani added, “God, that’s heartbreaking! I’m so sorry.”

Ironically, this upsetting incident comes during a moment of great professional joy for Anoushka. Just weeks ago, she earned multiple Grammy nominations for Chapter III: We Return to Light, her evocative collaboration with Alam Khan and Sarathy Korwar.

The EP has been celebrated for its fusion of classical Indian elements with modern soundscapes and is nominated for Best Global Music Album at the 2026 Grammys, set for 1 February in Los Angeles.