Anoushka Shankar on Returning to India with ‘Chapters’ Tour: It feels like it is coming full circle in multiple ways
11-time Grammy-nominated sitarist Anoushka Shankar celebrates 30 years of her performances with ‘Chapters’ Tour in India. The anticipated tour is scheduled to begin in Hyderabad on 30 January, followed by Bengaluru on 31st January, Mumbai on 1st February, Pune on 6th February, Delhi on 7th February, and Kolkata on 8th February. Ahead of this, Anoushka opened up about the tour, expressing what it means to her, to return to a place where it all began.
“Coming back to tour India always feels meaningful, in general. And now, coming back on the 30-year anniversary when my touring career began, to return to where I started, also feels meaningful. This journey started here - the three Chapters I’ve been releasing, the genesis was here, the first show was here. So, it feels like it is coming full circle in multiple ways. It feels very beautiful,” she says.
With this milestone tour, Anoushka not only celebrates 30 years of pushing musical boundaries but also comes a full circle with the beginning of her Chapters trilogy. The sitarist also revealed what the audiences can expect from India tour.
“If anyone’s been following the process closely, they’ll know that over the last three years, I’ve been involved in an experiment of releasing mini-albums as chapters that tell an ongoing story, and that I’ve allowed the music on tour to evolve and change as each Chapter has been released. People who came to the first or second shows will hear that the journey has come to its end now - we’re hardly playing any of the music we were playing at the beginning. But the emotional thread, the narrative, has reached completion,” she shared.
And added, “If people haven’t been following the journey that closely, then it’s all going to feel even more new in terms of the band, the look, and the feeling. It’s a complete show. It tells an emotional story, from start to finish. I think of things in those terms rather than just a collection of songs, to give people an emotional journey through the show. There’s a real range of introversion and virtuosity, light and shade.”
Anoushka Shankar’s Chapters trilogy - ‘Ch I: Forever, For Now,’ 'Ch II: How Dark it Is Before Dawn,’ and ‘Ch III: We Return to Light,' - was recorded in Berlin, California, and India respectively, throwing light on cross-cultural roots and her evolution as an artist. The final Chapter - an emergence from a dark healing night into the bright light of day - was written in collaboration with virtuoso sarodist-composer Alam Khan, the grandson of Ravi Shankar’s guru the legendary Baba Aladdin Khan and son of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, and Sarathy Korwar, an inspiring composer, percussionist and treasured member of Anoushka’s band.
A trailblazer in global music and beyond, Anoushka is the youngest and first female recipient of the British House of Commons Shield, an Ivor Novello Award nominee and an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music. The first Indian woman ever nominated for a Grammy and the first Indian artist to perform and present at the ceremony, she was also awarded an Honorary Degree in Music from Oxford University in 2024. Her creative freedom has inspired collaborations with acclaimed artists like Gorillaz, Herbie Hancock, Sting, Patti Smith, Norah Jones, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Having registered her live performance debut at 13, Anoushka Shankar carries forward the rich legacy of her father and Guru, Pandit Ravi Shankar, all while creating her own path. Her upcoming India tour promises to be a soul-stirring and immersive exploration of hope and an artist’s vision for a dynamic future.
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