British-American sitarist Anoushka Shankar posted a video on Instagram revealing that her sitar had been severely damaged during an Air India flight. The 14-time Grammy nominee alleged that the instrument reached her with a deep crack despite being packed in a hard case and transported with a paid handling fee.
‘How on earth does this happen?’
“Devastated and truly disturbed by Air India’s treatment of my sitar,” she wrote on Instagram, expressing anger and disappointment.
In the next few lines, she added, “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 thousands of flights taken on other airlines without even a peg going out of tune.”
Alongside, she also shared a video of her broken sitar.
‘You guys charge a handling fee, yet…’
In the video, she questioned how such harm could occur unless there was deliberate neglect. “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…,” while turning her sitar and showing a long, deep crack running across the tumba.
She revealed that it was her first time flying with the airline in years and the first time her sitar had ever been damaged in transit. “You’re 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.
Shankar, daughter of legendary sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, further said she couldn’t wrap her head around how the sitar suffered such severe damage despite being in special protective cases. “I have special cases. You guys charge a handling fee, and yet you’ve done this.”
Air India has not released a statement addressing the alleged mishandling of her instrument.
‘How did Air India let this happen?’ ask social media users
The video quickly went viral on Instagram, with many, including Zakir Khan, flocking to the comments section to share their thoughts.
Zakir Khan expressed, “This is extremely heartbreaking!”
Rj Kisna commented, “Have a little shame, Air India.”
Rani KoHEnur said, “Oh no. This is just terrible.”
A few others also reacted to the video, with one saying, “Hollly what nowww!???? My heart was racing… this has to go public… literally the unteenth time I’m seeing stories like this from them.”
“This is absolutely AWFUL!! I am so terribly sorry this happened!!! Holding you – and your precious, precious sitar – close in my heart. Unbelievable negligence by Air India … unconscionable,” commented another.
A third posted, “My god!!! This is insane. How did Air India let this happen!!”
