‘Anoushka has surprises for her Kolkata audience’

Musician-composer and sitar exponent Anoushka Shankar will perform live in Kolkata on Sunday, marking a milestone return to the city’s iconic Netaji Indoor Stadium. While Anoushka last performed in Kolkata in 2018, this concert is her first at the venue in nearly three decades – since her debut performance there in 1996 alongside her father Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Zakir Hussain.A source close to the event organiser said that the last leg of The Chapters Tour 2026 will feature a quartet performing music from Anoushka’s acclaimed trilogy, blending Indian classical traditions with contemporary global sounds. “The show will run for approximately 2 to 2.5 hours. Anoushka will perform with four to five musicians and her band,” the source said. A detailed rehearsal has been scheduled for Sunday morning after Anoushka arrives in Kolkata with her mother, Sukanya Shankar.The source also revealed that Anoushka and her mother have personally invited a small group of guests for the show, including several family members and fellow Kolkata musicians. Mamata Shankar has been invited by Sukanya Shankar and is expected to attend the concert with her husband. According to the source, Anoushka is also keen to try Kolkata’s local cuisine. “The city’s winter delicacies like notun gurer mishti – rosogolla, makha sandesh and patishapta – will be gifted to the her from a heritage sweet shop in the city,” the source added.Travelling with the sitarIn December 2025, the Grammy-nominated sitarist had revealed that her sitar was severely damaged during air travel, an incident she described as devastating and deeply distressing. Keeping that experience in mind, special arrangements have been made this time. “To avoid any repeats of the earlier travel fiasco, Anoushka will be travelling in-flight with her sitar. A separate flight ticket has been booked exclusively for the instrument,” the source confirmed, adding the other instruments will be in check-in luggage.