Anoushka Shankar expresses dismay at Air India's handling of her Sitar

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Renowned sitar player Anoushka Shankar expressed her disappointment with Air India after her instrument was damaged during a flight.

Taking to her Instagram, she shared a video detailing the entire damage occured in her instrument, "First, I was just looking at the top of my sitar and I thought it was like really out of tune. And 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. 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 guys charge a handling fee and yet you've done this," Anoushka said in the video.

She wrote in the caption, "Devastated and truly disturbed by @airindia's treatment of my sitar. How on earth does damage like this happen without willful 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 thousand of flights taken on other airlines without even a peg going out of tune."

Anoushka, who performs across multiple genres and styles, classical and contemporary, acoustic and electronic, last month picked up multiple Grammy nominations at the 68th edition of the prestigious awards. Her single 'Daybreak' earned her a nomination for Best Global Music Performance, while her latest album 'Chapter III: We Return To Light' -- a collaboration with Alam Khan and drummer Sarathy Korwar -- secured a nomination for Best Global Music Album.

Reacting to her nominations, Anoushka on Instagram wrote, "Today is a day of contrasts - a horrific migraine AND news of my 12th and 13th Grammy nominations all in one afternoon. I'm beyond grateful, from my horizontal position in this darkened room, to have Chapter III: We Return to Light nominated for Best Global Album and 'Daybreak' up for Best Global Music Performance. To be nominated alongside the incredible @alamsarode and @sarathykorwar, with whom I made this music, makes it all the sweeter."

The winners of the 2026 Grammys will be revealed on Sunday, February 1, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. CBS will air the award show and stream it live on Paramount+.