Anoushka Shankar: It's convenient to argue about the awards ­ that takes away from the more important discussion

Anoushka Shankar, who recently got her fifth Grammy nomination, talks to us about how intolerance whether it's the award waapsi issue in India or the refugee crisis in Europe is the most important conversation as she readies to visit Delhi as part of her nearly annual India tour.
READ: Anoushka Shankar on 5th Grammy nod: I will be very surprised if I win
The last time you were here, you were talking about your song on Nirbhaya, crime against women across the world, but you'd said your generation had never felt the need to be feminists before that...
No, I've always been a feminist from as early as I could know what that meant. I've never felt the need to talk so vocally about my own experiences until that gang-rape, nearly two years ago now . Because then, it felt like there was a point to sharing my story , that it had a purpose. But I've always been a feminist.
You'd said then you saw a global, widespread anger against that sort of thing ­ do you see the same sort of anger in the common person about the refugee crisis, for instance, or more localized reactions?
That's difficult to answer. Human emotions are so hard to explain in that way , but everything that's been going on with the refugee crisis, especially this year, has been something that I've... how could you not be aware of it? I've been watching it all year, and it's incredibly heart-breaking. It's something that ended up becoming the main theme across my new album. I do feel that anger but that heartbreak as well, when you see people trying to come to a place of safety and being treated the way that so many of them are being treated. It's horrific and it's wrong, and there's a lot in the world that's wrong, but there's a lot of us who can make it right just by trying to connect with each other and love each other and trying to bring as much positivity as we can.
Listen to songs of Anoushka Shankar on Gaana.com
More specifically, is there a lack of engagement with an issue like that, which is distant, as opposed to crime against women, which is right there on the streets, in our homes?
That's hard to answer ­ here in England, the refugee crisis has been at the forefront of news throughout the year, it's been the main topic in Europe this year.I don't know what it's been like in India, not having been there this year. I can only speak for myself ­ it feels relevant here. It feels urgent, it feels like something I'm engaging with, as I know people around me have been engaging as well. So many of my friends have been going and volunteering at refugee camps, so many people are making music or raising money , or donations... It's definitely something in our lives and it's happening right now.
In India, the news has been dominated of late by the word `intolerance' ­ are you aware of that controversy?
Yes (laughs).
It's new in the sense that a fair number of creative people have expressed dissent publicly through gestures like returning awards. As someone who performs here and who's familiar with the country, do you have an opinion?
I don't understand what the opposition's view might be. I totally understand the view of those who are giving in awards and what their reasoning is. I'm curious as to what the opposite view is ­ what are they saying?
They say that the awards given by the state to these people weren't necessarily given by the current government, that returning an award is an insult to the entire nation, and that there is no atmosphere of intolerance, it's simply exaggeration by these people and the media.
My take is that the award is not the issue. The intolerance that these people are speaking about is the issue. And it's really convenient to start having an argument about the awards, because that is taking away from the more important discussion. So I don't really feel like I have any need to voice an opinion on whether people can return their awards or not ­ that doesn't matter to me, it's their award, they can do what they like with it. What matters to me is the conversation about intolerance.
We come from a historically tolerant country , from a democracy .And if people are feeling like there's intolerance, that's important. And that's where I would much rather focus my energies.
Does this upset you or find echo in your work ­ a growing fear that there's intolerance of other religions and cultures, globally?
Yes. What we're speaking about, migration and the refugee crisis, are very specific examples, but it's about borders, nations, peoples, and the fear we feel of people who are different from us, and why one person would deserve to live in a first world country and another person wouldn't. All these kinds of issues are about people and humanity and differences. They're definitely important.
I find it very interesting, all of this stuff ­ it's very difficult to give a quote in a newspaper that doesn't then get twisted and misconstrued in a million different ways, so it's really hard to try and be as honest as possible. I spoke recently in an interview to an Indian publication about how it makes me nervous, this idea that maybe things are becoming very intolerant. And all I said was that it was so important to always have a discussion. This is a small example ­ it got a lot of response from the internet. Some people were very supportive, but you had some people calling me names. And it's a very typical sexist thing that happens, that when a woman says something, they say oh, she's a w****, she's a b****, she shouldn't be talking. I find it so interesting that especially when we're talking about tolerance ­ the idea that I can't voice my opinion is intolerant by nature. Why would we even have a discussion about intolerance when I'm not allowed to voice my opinion? That is intolerance. For me, fundamentally , I love that India is a democracy . For me, that's the most important thing.And I think what that comes with is that we need to respect each other ­ and that doesn't necessarily mean agree with each other.
The most difficult thing is, sometimes, I might disagree with you, but you still have the same right as I do. That's tolerance. We have to be able to talk to each other at every level ­ the governmental level, person-to-person. If we can't coexist and listen to each other, then we lose everything.
Since you tour extensively across the world and work with people from various cultures, do you see an equal number of examples of this co-existence as well?
I see that it's possible, it happens all over the place ­ circles of friends that include every single religion, marriages where people raise their kids with multiple faiths, festivals where people are supporting every kind of cultural heritage. It's absolutely possible. By nature, I remain hopeful that ultimately , that's how it will be.
The album you have got a Grammy nomination for, Home, is a return to your classical roots and a tribute your father, but you recorded it while you were pregnant with you second son, Mohan. Is this one about your father and your son, then?
Not quite, no. It was definitely about my father, because I was playing to him, play ing the music I learnt from him and re ally feeling a connection to his memory by doing so. Being pregnant at the same time ­ it's a beautiful feeling to play when pregnant, there's something special about it; I'm sure it affected the way I played, but the album was definitely focused on my father.
How's life with two kids?
Unrecognizable! It's... crazy! I love it ­ it's chaotic, it's intense, it's really good fun.We all have a blast together, it's lovely .
You also tour every year and or after every album ­ how is that with kids?
Touring with kids is hard ­ it was easier with one. What we're doing in India for example is not that intense ­ the kids will mainly be in Delhi with my mum, I'll be coming and going. In April, when I'm touring for my next album, then I'll be fully on the road again, so I'll be touring by bus, starting in the States. That'll be trickier; we'll have to figure it out as we go along, really .
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