Anoushka Shankar on finding a simpler sound

Sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar speaks to Mint about her recent work before touring this week, including a set at Lollapalooza in Mumbai

- Bhanuj Kappal

• Much like her father, Shankar isn't content just painting within the lines of the Hindustani classical tradition

For almost three decades, Anoushka Shankar has been one of the most forward-thinking artists in Hindustani classical music, taking the sitar boldly into new sonic territories. The daughter and protege of Pandit Ravi Shankar—the world-famous sitar maestro who is known as the “godfather of world music”—she made her debut performance aged just 13, accompanied by none other than Zakir Hussain at Delhi’s Siri Fort. She spent the next few years accompanying her father on concerts all over the world, performing at some of the world’s most prestigious stages. 

By the time she was 18, she had already released her debut album Anoushka, a collection of Hindustani classical ragas that established her as a sitar virtuoso in her own stead. In the years since, Shankar has become almost as synonymous with the mediaeval stringed instrument as her father, whose influence remains central to her musical identity.

“It’s so hard to talk about his influence, because he’s everywhere,” she says, talking over Zoom last December, on the 11th anniversary of Pandit Ravi Shankar’s death. “Even as I grew up and started finding more of my identity, I didn’t lose anything that he taught me.” 

Much like her father, Shankar isn’t content just painting within the lines of the Hindustani classical tradition. Starting with 2005’s Rise, she expanded her sonic palette to include jazz, pop, Asian Underground electronics, and even hip-hop. As she grew more confident and accomplished, she became more ambitious in both sound and concept. 2011’s