Anoushka Shankar slams airline for damaging her sitar, shares video of cracked instrument

Travelling with heavy, fragile musical instruments is a major source of anxiety for musicians. Multiple musicians and performers across the globe have often taken to social media to share their complaints against airlines or travel companies for mishandling their musical instruments and gear or damaging them. Grammy-winning sitarist Anoushka Shankar shared a similar experience on Instagram.

Anoushka Sharma shares video of cracked sitar, criticises airline for mishandling it

Anoushka took to Instagram on Wednesday to share her disappointment with Air India after her sitar was damaged during a recent trip. She said she discovered major cracks in the instrument after the flight. In a video post, Anoushka shared a close-up of her sitar and a sizeable crack was visible through the bottom part of the sitar, known as the 'toomba'

"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 said on Instagram.

Most airlines have certain baggage policies for oversized and fragile musical instruments. For heavy, oversized instruments like a sitar it's best to use a hard-shell case for maximum protection and loose the strings slightly to relieve tension. However, a hard case can't often protect instruments against heavy impact if they're mishandled or if they fall from a certain height.

For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.