Ahead of her three-city tour in India this December, sitarist Anoushka Shankar is elated to be nominated for not one but two awards at the 65th Grammy Awards to be held in February 2023. The musician has been nominated in the Best Global Music Performance category for 'Udhero Na' with instrumentalist and singer Arooj Aftab and in the Best Global Music Album category for 'Between Us'. It makes her homecoming to India feel even more special.
At the concerts in Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi, Shankar will be joined by British electronic musician Gold Panda in interpreting the legacy of her father Pandit Ravi Shankar. In the second half of the evening, a quintet of musicians will accompany her for an inventive exploration of selected works from her repertoire, including the digitally released album Between Us.
There is also the world premiere of the reimagined version of In Jyoti’s Name to mark the 10th anniversary of the gang-rape of Jyoti Singh Pandey. Titled In Her Name, the extended arrangement includes a specially written poem by poet Nikita Gill, a performance by Bharatnatyam dancer Mythili Prakash supported by artwork by artist-activist Shilo Shiv Suleman. In a chat over a Zoom call, Shankar spoke about the Grammy nominations and her upcoming India tour. Edited excerpts from the conversation:
It’s the first time you have received two Grammy nominations for one single night. How does that feel?
It feels different; it feels extra special. There is something really sweet about having these collaborations with musicians I really respect and admire. They are really incredible and then on 'Udhero Na', Arooj gets to share the nomination with me. It’s a lovely experience.
How do you stay focused on the fact that you have been nominated and not worry about winning?
It’s wild! It is such a play on human nature. It elevates you to another ground level where you are looking up again and thinking, ‘now I’m here and I need to win, and if I don’t win, then I have lost’ by being in the same place that initially felt like a win (laughs).
It’s a very weird conundrum and I have been through that two-month cycle enough times before, so now I just try and stay healthily conscious of it. I know it is human nature to start to hope and want to win. I won’t lie; it’s disappointing not to win. However, I talk to myself and remind myself what that means and what it doesn’t mean and what it doesn’t mean is any kind of judgement on your worth or value as a person or as an artist. It is just a perspective shift. I try and stay grateful.
You are going to be performing in India after a gap of two years. Each time, you have come back with newer experiences and more music. Has the audience changed over the years and how do you look at your India experience over the years?
It definitely feels like the audiences have changed over the years but I would struggle to explain clearly in what way. What I do keeps changing over years - in terms of the band, the music and the theme. I think in the long run that has been the consistent thing that every show is different, and my audience in India knows and looks forward to that. They are along for the journey.
In my early days, the country was different. The culture was different, my age and experience were different and it was harder to try different things. It was harder for people to know what was happening and why, whereas now it feels that’s part of what they love. It feels easier to be authentic and do whatever I feel like I need to do.
Ten years ago, you composed 'In Jyoti’s Name' as a response to the horrific gang-rape of Jyoti Singh Pandey. Why did you feel the need to revisit and reimagine it as 'In Her Name' and in what ways have you done it?
To answer the technical side first, I have written extended portions to the song. There is new material that flows from the original song on the melodic and musical side. I also invited my friend, the poet Nikita Gill to write spoken word poetry for it which I perform within the song. The song has completely evolved into a new piece.
From the emotional and symbolic side as to why in the first place – it is ten years on and that really struck me. Every year I remember that date. Ten years is a long time. As a woman living in this world and reading our news cycles across global territories, I ask myself, what has changed? Are we in a different world now, because we should be?
At the time it happened, I remember how we all spoke about what is going to change, what laws are we going to put in; how do we make this never happen again and it is absolutely happening again and again. And every time it happens, I feel a wrenching in my gut and I feel my heart break and I feel outraged and many women I know feel the same.
So this song is like an offering and remembrance but it’s also a question. Why are we still here? We could ask why make the song again but also, why not? It’s still hugely relevant and therefore, in any way we can amplify that and keep talking about it feels important.
Earlier this year, you also celebrated your father’s birth centenary with a special concert in London. How was it to finally be able to do that?
It was absolutely unique. We had to cancel multiple times even after putting lots of work in. So to finally bring that evening to life, to share his music with his disciples and celebrate my father was beautiful on various levels. We were celebrating our collective guru, celebrating my father, celebrating being together and playing music again. It was an overwhelming joy.
How has the pandemic and the ensuing lockdown affected you as a person and as an artist?
We are still processing what we have gone through and still going through, but it feels like there is this kind of urgent need to pretend that everything is okay now but we don’t feel normal and neither have we recovered yet.
A lot of the way I used to live my life and do my work don’t feel right anymore. I don’t want to leave my kids and be away months on tour. It doesn’t fit my value system anymore. At the same time, I love playing and I love sharing with people. It is definitely changing how I think about the career aspect of what I do which obviously affects the artistic aspect of what I do. That is something I am having to renegotiate for myself and I still don’t have an exact answer for what that is.
Do your children travel with you when you go on tour? Are they coming to India with you?
They are coming to India but normally they can’t anymore because they are both in school. I take them if the shows are during holiday time but it’s a little tricky now. I have really cut down on how much I tour and just try to do the odd important thing I really want to do. This is right next to Christmas so I can bring them here.
What does 2023 look like in terms of tours and albums?
I have some Between Us shows coming up. Starting January, I will also be working on a new album, so hopefully I will be touring with that.
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