Anoushka Shankar Slams Air India After Her Sitar Was Damaged In Transit
Updated on: 04 December, 2025 05:24 PM IST |Shweta Shah
Anoushka Shankar slams Air India for destroying her sitar
The Indian airline is already creating news, and this time, not for a good reason. Grammy Award-nominated musician and sitarist Anoushka Shankar accused Air India of destroying her sitar in transit, despite paying extra money for handling fees.
She took to Instagram and slammed the airline for their carelessness, expressing her deep frustration and how `devastated` she was.
The musician and daughter of late legend Pandit Ravi Shankar took to social media on Wednesday and expressed her anger after discovering her sitar had been damaged in transit. Sharing the video of her broken instrument, she also mentioned her travel experience with Air India.
View this post on Instagram
In the video, Shankar is heard saying, "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.”
She then turned the attention to the cracks on the sitar and asked, “How have you done this? I have special cases; you charge a handling fee, and yet you’ve done this?”
She posted the video with the caption, “Devastated and truly disturbed by @airindia’s treatment of my sitar. How on earth does damage like this happen without wilful 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 thousands of flights taken on other airlines without even a peg going out of tune.”
The post soon attracted the attention of other celebrities, who were also disappointed for her. Comedian Zakir Khan commented, “This is extremely heartbreaking,” while composer Vishal Dadlani wrote, “This is extremely heartbreaking.”
Professionally, Anoushka Shankar brought home three glorious Grammy Awards for her latest work, Chapter III: We Return to Light. The EP blends in traditional classical roots with modern-day soundscapes, an art that she has mastered over the last two decades.
ADVERTISEMENT
Which is your favorite Dharmendra movie?
ADVERTISEMENT
