When renowned sitarist Shubhendra Rao landed in New York on November 1 last year to perform at a temple, he had little idea that the chain of events about to unfold would propel him into a campaigner for artistes’ rights. The sitar he had checked-in as luggage was severely damaged during his flight from New Delhi. And this was the third time in four years that his precious instrument was broken during air travel — once he even had to cancel a concert in France — and he had had enough. After Air India denied responsibility for damage to his sitar in a legal notice he had sent to the carrier, Rao restarted a petition he had launched in 2017 on Change.org to make airlines accountable for damage to checked-in instruments.
His petition, backed by other renowned Indian musicians such as Grammy awardee Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Shujaat Husain Khan, has notched over 81,000 signatures and helped him get a meeting with the civil aviation ministry officials on February 27.
Rao, a protégé of world-renowned sitar maestro, Pandit Ravi Shankar, is hopeful an audience with the civil aviation minister would bring about a policy change in the way musical instruments are handled by airlines. Many Indian musical instruments are not allowed as cabin baggage — owing to their large size — and airlines ask them to be checked-in as regular luggage. But the problem arises when they are also treated as such, said Rao. “We aren’t talking about just any piece of luggage here. You can’t pick an instrument off the shelf and simply start playing. It takes years for it to become yours and produce the notes you want,” he told TOI.
Tabla player Abhinav Upadhyay, who often performed alongside ghazal king Jagjit Singh, agreed that musicians have a special bond with their instruments. “There are many instances of musicians having suffered because their instruments like sitar or sarod were damaged during air travel. There has to be some consideration when it comes to instruments related to fine art forms.”
Rao’s cause resonates with other musicians who also said that transporting their delicate and expensive musical instruments safely is often a struggle. Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt recounted how he once saw his mohan veena fall from the top of a tractor trolley which was carrying cargo from the aircraft upon arrival. “We had just landed in the US when I saw my instrument fall. I was shocked at how it was being handled,” he told TOI.
When Mumbai-based double bass player Abhinav Khokhar flew from Patna to Mumbai in February this year, he found his double bass — an instrument that costs upwards of Rs 2.6 lakh — covered in multiple cracks. “I had to head straight to my performance and when I reached there I found the bass broken. Luckily, I managed to arrange for a substitute instrument in time. And after several follow-ups and calls, I received compensation from the airline to cover the cost of repairs. But it took a month and by that time I lost out on eight gigs as I didn’t have an instrument. Searching for luthiers who could repair it itself was a task since bass is not an Indian instrument.”
24/02/20 Ruchika Uniyal/Times of India
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His petition, backed by other renowned Indian musicians such as Grammy awardee Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Shujaat Husain Khan, has notched over 81,000 signatures and helped him get a meeting with the civil aviation ministry officials on February 27.
Rao, a protégé of world-renowned sitar maestro, Pandit Ravi Shankar, is hopeful an audience with the civil aviation minister would bring about a policy change in the way musical instruments are handled by airlines. Many Indian musical instruments are not allowed as cabin baggage — owing to their large size — and airlines ask them to be checked-in as regular luggage. But the problem arises when they are also treated as such, said Rao. “We aren’t talking about just any piece of luggage here. You can’t pick an instrument off the shelf and simply start playing. It takes years for it to become yours and produce the notes you want,” he told TOI.
Tabla player Abhinav Upadhyay, who often performed alongside ghazal king Jagjit Singh, agreed that musicians have a special bond with their instruments. “There are many instances of musicians having suffered because their instruments like sitar or sarod were damaged during air travel. There has to be some consideration when it comes to instruments related to fine art forms.”
Rao’s cause resonates with other musicians who also said that transporting their delicate and expensive musical instruments safely is often a struggle. Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt recounted how he once saw his mohan veena fall from the top of a tractor trolley which was carrying cargo from the aircraft upon arrival. “We had just landed in the US when I saw my instrument fall. I was shocked at how it was being handled,” he told TOI.
When Mumbai-based double bass player Abhinav Khokhar flew from Patna to Mumbai in February this year, he found his double bass — an instrument that costs upwards of Rs 2.6 lakh — covered in multiple cracks. “I had to head straight to my performance and when I reached there I found the bass broken. Luckily, I managed to arrange for a substitute instrument in time. And after several follow-ups and calls, I received compensation from the airline to cover the cost of repairs. But it took a month and by that time I lost out on eight gigs as I didn’t have an instrument. Searching for luthiers who could repair it itself was a task since bass is not an Indian instrument.”
24/02/20 Ruchika Uniyal/Times of India
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