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A "devastated and genuinely disturbed" Anoushka Shankar has said her sitar was damaged connected an Air India flight, telling the hose successful a societal media station that "you're the state this euphony belongs to" and this was the archetypal clip successful 15 oregon 17 years that this had happened.
The instrumentalist posted a video connected Instagram connected Wednesday (December 3, 2025) showing a heavy ace done the lower-rounded extremity of the stringed instrument.
"First I was conscionable looking astatine the apical of my sitar and felt similar it was truly retired of tune. And aft I turned it and picked it up to play and that's erstwhile I realised. This was my archetypal clip flying Air India aft a agelong time. You're the state this euphony belongs to and this is the archetypal clip thing similar this has happened to my instrumentality successful 15 oregon 17 years. How person you done this? I person peculiar cases. You guys complaint a handling interest and yet you've done this," Ms. Anoushka Shankar said successful the video.
Ms. Shankar besides expressed her dismay that an Indian philharmonic instrumentality could beryllium mishandled by an Indian airline.
“I’m devastated and profoundly troubled by @airindia’s handling of my sitar. How tin specified harm hap without negligence? It’s particularly disheartening since I precocious chose to alert Air India aft a agelong time, yet it seems adjacent an Indian instrumentality isn’t harmless with them — aft countless flights connected different airlines without a azygous peg going retired of tune,” Ms. Shankar wrote.
Though she did not notation immoderate details of her formation and wherever she landed, an Air India spokesperson said successful a connection connected Thursday (December 4, 2025) that the airlines had initiated an investigation, including a reappraisal of CCTV footage astatine Delhi airport. "We are acrophobic to larn of a valued guest’s acquisition with their philharmonic instrumentality connected a caller formation with us. We recognize its taste and idiosyncratic significance, and profoundly regret the distress this incidental whitethorn person caused," the spokesperson said.
"However, we are presently incapable to ascertain the origin of the harm and are engaging with the impermanent to code the issue, portion investigating further to recognize wherever the harm whitethorn person occurred arsenic aggregate stakeholders and agents are progressive successful the handling of specified items," the connection added.
Ms. Shankar, a globally renowned sitarist and girl of the legendary Pandit Ravi Shankar, has a bid of concerts successful India successful January and February 2026. The shows statesman connected January 30, 2026 successful Hyderabad.
Several chap artists echoed her daze astatine her instrumentality being damaged. While stand-up comedian Zakir Khan and vocalist Vishal Dadlani described the incidental arsenic “heart-breaking", histrion Lisa Ray called it “truly distressing".
Singer Papon excessively expressed his dismay, commenting beneath the post, “Genuine attraction feels truthful uncommon these days… it’s arsenic if the precise enactment of caring has faded from our lives! This is truthful heartbreaking @airindia.” Ms. Shankar (44) had faced question troubles past twelvemonth arsenic well.
While successful Berlin for the last amusement of her European tour, she mislaid her luggage, which contained each her apparel and her ‘mizrabs’ — custom-fitted digit picks indispensable for playing her instrument.
However, her telephone for assistance was answered by netizens who reached retired to contacts successful Berlin and suggested stores selling Indian clothing, enabling her to successfully execute astatine her sold-out performance astatine the Berlin Philharmonic.
