A "devastated and truly disturbed" Anoushka Shankar has said her sitar was damaged on an Air India flight, telling the airline in a social media post that "even an Indian instrument isn't safe with them". She said this was the first time in 15 or 17 years that such damage had occurred.
Air India Responds
While Anoushka Shankar did not mention any details of her flight or destination, an Air India spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday that the airline had initiated an investigation, including a review of CCTV footage at Delhi airport.
"We are concerned to learn of a valued guest's experience with their musical instrument on a recent flight with us. We understand its cultural and personal significance, and deeply regret the distress this incident may have caused," the spokesperson said.
"However, we are currently unable to ascertain the cause of the damage and are engaging with the guest to address the issue, while investigating further to understand where the damage may have occurred, as multiple stakeholders and agents are involved in the handling of such items," the statement added.
Anoushka Shankar Expresses Distress
The acclaimed musician posted a video on Instagram on Wednesday showing a deep crack running through the lower rounded end of her sitar.
"First I was just looking at the top of my sitar and felt like it was really out of tune. After I tuned it and picked it up to play, that's when I realised. This was my first time flying Air India after a long time. You're the country this music belongs to, and this is the first time anything like this has happened to my instrument in 15 or 17 years. How have you done this? I have special cases. You charge a handling fee and yet you've done this," she said in the video.
She also voiced her disappointment that an Indian instrument could be mishandled by an Indian airline.
"I'm devastated and deeply troubled by @airindia's handling of my sitar. How can such damage occur without negligence? It's especially disheartening since I recently chose to fly Air India after a long time, yet it seems even an Indian instrument isn't safe with them - after countless flights on other airlines without a single peg going out of tune," Anoushka Shankar wrote.
Several fellow artists expressed shock at the incident. Stand-up comedian Zakir Khan and singer Vishal Dadlani described it as "heartbreaking", while actor Lisa Ray called it "truly distressing". Singer Papon added, "Genuine care feels so rare these days... it's as if the very act of caring has faded from our lives! This is so heartbreaking @airindia."
Shankar, 44, has faced travel-related troubles before. While in Berlin for the final show of her European tour last year, she lost her luggage, which contained all her clothes and her mizrabs - custom-fitted finger picks essential for playing the sitar. Her call for help was widely shared, with netizens suggesting stores and contacts in Berlin, enabling her to perform successfully at the sold-out concert at the Berlin Philharmonic.
Anoushka Shankar, a globally renowned sitarist and daughter of the legendary Pandit Ravi Shankar, is scheduled to perform a series of concerts in India over January and February, beginning on January 30 in Hyderabad.
A Repeated Problem Faced By Musicians
There have been several instances of musicians discovering that their instruments were damaged during transit.
In 2010, for example, sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan's instrument was allegedly damaged by Air India. Four years later, his sarod went missing on a London-Delhi British Airways flight and was later returned.
Similarly, the sarod of Ustad Aashish Khan suffered a snapped tail on an IndiGo flight in 2012, despite being clearly marked as fragile and paid for as excess baggage.
In 2019, sitarist Pandit Shubhendra Rao's sitar was damaged on an Air India flight from New Delhi to New York.
ALSO READ: Anoushka Shankar Blasts Air India For Breaking Her Sitar: "You Charge A Handling Fee"
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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