Anoushka Shankar: All my firsts have been at Siri Fort

A 'worth it’ performance: The nip in the air was palpable, but for Delhi’s music lovers, who had gathered at the Siri Fort auditorium on Friday evening, it was sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar’s performance that gave them the goosebumps. Pt

Vishwa Mohan Bhatt

, the Grammy-winning Hindustani classical music instrumentalist, who was one of the attendees at the concert, said, "It was a beautiful performance. I have flown all the way from Jaipur for the concert, and though my flight was five hours late, this performance was just worth it!"

(R-L) Sanjeev Shankar, Tom Farmar, Anoushka Shankar and Manu Delago perform the last track of the evening, 'Say Your Prayer' (BCCL)


The venue for Anoushka's firsts! Anoushka performed different tracks from her latest album, Land Of Gold, which, in the musician’s own words, "is a response to the global refugee crisis that the world is grappling with currently." The tracks played at the concert included Crossing The Rubicon, Land Of Gold, Dissolving Boundaries, Reunion, and the performance ended with a lullaby, Say Your Prayers. Addressing the audience, Anoushka said that the city and the venue were close to her heart. “Delhi is my old home city and this venue is very special to me. All my firsts have been here – the first time I played tanpura on stage was here, the first time I played sitar on stage was here, and the first and, in fact, the only time I played piano on stage was also here.” Though the evening saw a brief power outage, Anoushka and the crowd remained in high spirits. “In 20 years of playing, only here have I faced power cuts! This is the second time it’s happening to me. But still, it’s wonderful to be here,” she quipped.

(L-R) Richa Chadha, Ali Fazal and Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt at the event (BCCL)


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Musicians from around the world: Anoushka was accompanied by three musicians on stage – Manu Delago from Austria, a hang-player and percussionist who was also the co-writer of all the music played at the concert; Sanjeev Shankar, who played the shehnai and who Anoushka introduced as her father Ravi Shankar’s disciple; and Tom Farmer from London, who was on the bass and piano. Classical dancer Sonal Mansigh, one of the audience members, said, "It was an absolutely fantastic performance. So different, so creative and so moving!" Vamsee Ramaswamy, a PhD scholar from Bengaluru, who is visiting Delhi, said, “I have no words, it was a mesmerizing performance. This was the second time I have heard Anoushka perform live at a concert and the first time, her latest album.”

A proud mother: And how does it feel to see her daughter perform on stage, yet again?

Sukanya Shankar

, who was seated in the audience with Sonal on one side and her five-year-old grandson, Zubin, on the other, said, “All I can say is that I am a proud mother!”

Sonal Mansingh

(L) and Sukanya Shankar, Anoushka’s mother (BCCL)