Anoushka Shankar Announces India Tour For 2026! (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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Anoushka Shankar, the 11-time Grammy-nominated sitarist, has announced her highly-anticipated India Tour celebrating 30 years of live performance. This milestone tour will begin in Hyderabad on January 30, 2025, followed by Bengaluru on January 31, Mumbai on February 1, Pune on February 6, Delhi on February 7, and Kolkata on February 8.
Speaking about the tour, Anoushka said, “Every performance in India feels deeply personal, but this tour comes at a particularly special moment. Together, we’ll mark 30 years of sharing my music on stage – three decades of growth, risk, and reinvention.”
Anoushka will not only celebrate three decades of her musical journey with this landmark tour, but also comes full circle with the beginning of her Chapters trilogy, a body of work whose genesis began in India, and which she has been touring, to high critical acclaim, Chapter by Chapter across four continents over the last two years.
The acclaimed Sitarist also opened up about her Chapters trilogy, sharing, “This journey actually began in Goa three years ago with New Year’s Day journal entries mapping out a rough outline for the trilogy, and the first, experimental performances with a newly-formed band I would subsequently tour with whilst writing and releasing the Chapters.”
“Since then, I’ve allowed the music to evolve with each show and each continent, flowing freely from release to release. Now, all three Chapters are out, the full story is told, and it’s time to close the Chapters circle and begin another. I can’t wait for audiences in India to hear this music in full,” she added.
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, reflecting her cross-cultural roots and evolution as an artist and an individual. The final Chapter, an emergence from darkness and healing into the bright light of day, was written in collaboration with virtuoso sarodist-composer Alam Khan, son of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and grandson of Ravi Shankar’s guru, the legendary Baba Aladdin Khan, and Sarathy Korwar, an inspiring composer, percussionist, and treasured member of Anoushka’s band.
Anoushka Shankar Begins Her Journey As A Brand Ambassador Of Madhya Pradesh Tourism
Adding on to her latest feats Anoushka has also come onboard as brand ambassador of Madhya Pradesh Tourism for its new campaign, It All Began Here. “It’s hard not to fall in love with Madhya Pradesh, Anoushka noted.” “Its landscapes and people and so beautiful and it’s a part of India I’ve always wanted to see. There is a personal connection as my father spent many years living in Maihar under the intensive tutelage of his guru, and it meant a lot to finally be standing on that same soil,” she added.
The campaign film is directed by Ravi Jain and follows Anoushka as she performs across Madhya Pradesh’s breathtaking landscapes. The soundscape has been crafted by Abhishek Arora based on an original melody by Anoushka, with creative input from Vishal Bhardwaj, bringing together music, poetry, and imagery. Coming to Madhya Pradesh is like coming back to your home, and Mann Bhaya Jo Tu Ghar Aaya is the theme that the film promotes.
More About Anoushka Shankar
Considered a trailblazer in global music and beyond, Anoushka Shankar isa globally acclaimed sitarist, composer, author, and activist. She 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. She is the first Indian woman ever nominated for a Grammy and the first Indian artist to perform and present at the ceremony.
Anoushka 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. She continues to challenge convention and spread harmony through her music.
Having made her live performance debut at just 13, Anoushka Shankar carries forward the rich legacy of her father and Guru, Pandit Ravi Shankar, whilst charting her own bold, boundary-defying path. Her forthcoming India tour promises to be an immersive and soul-stirring exploration of hope, nostalgia, and a visionary artist’s bold vision for a shining new future.
