Anoushka Shankar Lashes Out At Airline For Breaking Her 17 Years Old Guitar. It’s Heartbreaking!
Anoushka Shankar questioned how an airline from the country where the sitar originates could allow such dysfunction to happen.
In recent events, international sitar maestro Anoushka Shankar has criticised Air India after they destroyed her sitar following a recent flight. The musician had opted to fly with the airline after many years and expressed disappointment over their damaging her instrument with avoidable negligence. She shared the incident on her social media. Read to know more about the controversy here.
About Anoushka Shankar’s Sitar
Musician Anoushka Shankar recently took to her Instagram and shared the extent of the damage to her sitar. She uploaded an emotional video describing the moment she realised things had gone wrong. Shankar said that her instrument seemed merely out of tune, but when she went to pick it up to play, significant damage was already done to it. As per her, she had invested in specialised cases and even paid them a handling fee, yet none of it protected her sitar.
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Anoushka Shankar questioned how an airline from the country where the sitar originates could allow such dysfunction to happen. She also said that this was her first time facing such an incident after two decades of constant flying with various airlines worldwide. The musician said that it was not just frustration but emotional distress, pointing out the cultural value of her instrument as well as the personal connection she shared with it.
Also Read: Singer Anoushka Shankar Calls India ‘No Country For Women’ And Sadly Enough, We Agree.
She wrote that the incident left her ‘devastated’ in the caption, adding that, in thousands of flights, not a single tuning peg had been touched until today. She also mentioned that she had decided to travel on Air India with high hopes, only to be disappointed. As of now, Air India has not issued any statements.
Also Read: Air India’s San Francisco-Mumbai Flight Suffers Technical Issue, Passengers Deplaned In Kolkata
First Published: December 04, 2025 4:50 PM
