Mumbai— Grammy-nominated sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar has publicly expressed frustration over what she described as decades of negligent treatment of musical instruments by airlines, after her sitar was recently damaged during an Air India flight.
In a detailed Instagram post shared on Saturday, Shankar posted photos and video clips documenting her travels and the various cases she has used over the years to protect her instruments. She thanked sitar maker Ajay Rikhiram for restoring the cracked instrument, noting that it “looks like it’ll live to see another day.”
Shankar stressed that while the latest incident occurred on Air India, the problem is not limited to one carrier. “I have had terrible mishaps over the decades on other airlines too,” she wrote. Despite investing in a large, heavy flight case more than 15 years ago, she continued to experience damage. A decade later she commissioned lightweight carbon-fibre cases, which improved safety but still did not eliminate risk.
She said she now travels with two sitars at all times — one checked in, one strapped into a seat — and brings a sitar technician on tour to handle emergencies. This setup, she acknowledged, is a “huge privilege” that many musicians cannot afford, but also a “forced choice” due to airlines’ minimal care for instruments. The added costs, she said, significantly cut into her earnings.
“This situation would have been immeasurably worse were I not in the position to pay excess baggage fees or have a platform that ensures the airline responds,” she noted. Shankar added that Air India has promised to update internal handling policies for musicians, and she hopes other airlines will do the same.
The artist previously called the incident “devastating,” sharing footage of a deep crack in her sitar discovered after tuning issues. “Even an Indian instrument isn’t safe with an Indian airline,” she remarked. (Source: IANS)
