Anoushka Shankar took to Instagram to share the updates about Air India mishandling her sitar. Read ahead to know more about it.
Anoushka Shankar, the Grammy- nominated sitarist, has come up to talk about the mistreatment of instruments by airlines while traveling . The musician shared a video on Instagram on Wednesday, saying, “At first, I noticed the top of my sitar seemed out of tune. After tuning it, I picked it up to play and realized this was my first time flying Air India in a long while. In 15 or 17 years of traveling with this instrument, nothing like this has ever happened. How could this happen when I have special cases and you charge a handling fee?” She captioned the video, “Devastated and truly disturbed by @airindia’s treatment of my sitar. How does damage like this happen without carelessness? I’ve flown thousands of times on other airlines without a single peg going out of tune. It’s sad that an Indian instrument isn’t safe with its own national carrier.”
Celebrities’ reaction to the video
The Instagram video garnered a lot of attention, with many prominent people taking to the comment section. Abhijay Negi, more commonly known as Encore ABJ, a member of a famous rap duo called Seedhe Maut, commented, “@airindia y’all should be embarrassed.” Famous comedian and poet Zakir Khan also wrote, “This is extremely heartbreaking! ?” Acclaimed playback singer and composer Papon wrote, “Genuine care feels so rare these days… it’s as if the very act of caring has faded from our lives! This is so heartbreaking @airindia . “
Anoushka Shankar updates about the incident
On December 4, 2025, Anoushka shared a video on her Instagram, updating fans about the incident. The caption said, ” First of all, THANK YOU everyone for your commiserations and support after my sitar was damaged on a flight this week. I have an incredible update-which is that it MAY be saved! I’m holding my breath while the truly amazing Ajay Rikhiram @rikhiramoriginals works on repairing my precious instrument, and I’m fervently hoping it will be brought back to life in time for my upcoming India Chapters tour. ?
ALSO, thanks to all your comments and shares, @airindia has reached out with apologies, an offer to compensate for the repairs , and promises of a policy change after a full investigation into how this happened. Hopefully, they will follow through, as it’s not enough if it’s just me who gets the support. I hope this can mark a change in the way musical instruments and all other precious goods are handled-giving them the care they deserve. I will keep you posted on all fronts!
Mainly , please keep your fingers crossed that my instrument will be okay !”
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