On a sun-dappled summer afternoon, while British-American musician Anoushka Shankar was lazing in the garden with her two sons, Zubin and Mohan, a thought struck her — One can attain a sense of joy and calm even in small, beautiful moments. “That’s it!” she said to herself. She wanted to capture that feeling forever.
The idea resulted in Forever, For Now — the first chapter of her mini album, which has mesmerised music aficionados across the world. “Creating is a spiritual and deeply connecting act. I love the feeling when ideas follow and I am in that lock with other musicians in a studio,” smiles Anoushka, speaking to Hyderabad Chronicle.
The renowned musician is all set to take Hyderabadis on a musical ride with her live performance on January 23. “On stage, there’s such a magic of connecting musically with other humans,” she says of her live concerts.
Anoushka says there are three chapters in total planned for this mini-album cycle. “The expansive, breezy feeling of Forever, For Now leads to a more immersive, ambient nightscape in Chapter 2, followed by blazing energetic morning vibes in Chapter 3,” she shares.
The talented sitar player is focusing on touring more intensively than she has since the pandemic began. “We’ve been to North America and are currently touring Australia. Then will come India. Finally we’ll tour Europe in the Spring. I’m looking at several composition commissions too, as I’d like to expand more into that space,” says the daughter of the late music maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar.
Growing up in a musical family, Anoushka naturally always wanted to be a musician. “Music was a validated and supported idea of a career at home. Unlike someone else who may have to fight parents who want them to be a doctor or engineer, the arts were the paramount options to work with in my family and that is hugely valuable,” she says.
Emerging from dad’s shadow
She began her career in music very young and gradually emerged from her father’s shadow to launch herself as a solo artiste.
When did she think she had truly come into her own? “I think that’s happened in layers. Releasing my fourth album, my first self-produced and self-composed one, was a milestone where I started to connect to my own inner musical identity more,” reveals Anoushka.
Over time, as she toured extensively around the world, Anoushka says she realised people were no longer coming to hear what Ravi Shankar’s daughter sounded like, but because they were aware of her voice and wanted to listen to it. “That has been hugely gratifying.”
Advantages galore
Ask her if she, as a South Asian woman, believes that a person’s history and culture can prove an advantage, Anoushka replies that she feels the world, unfortunately, is all about advantage and privilege.
“In a global context being a South Asian female has sometimes worked against me. But on the other hand, being my father’s daughter definitely opened certain doors,” she says.
Coming from a particular section of society in India brings inbuilt advantages that many people aren’t even aware of, that someone else with the same dreams and hopes from say a lower-income or more remote family wouldn't have access to, she adds. “In another context, I do think there is an incredible advantage as an artiste to come from a specific culture that values the arts as we do and has the kind of living history and artistic lineage that we pass on generation to generation,” she explains. The immersion of learning from a guru is a unique experience in the world, feels Anoushka. “And I cherish the awareness of the arts as a spiritual path that was passed on to me.”
Does that experience help her link diverse musical genres? “Very much so! My upbringing meant I learned to code-switch without even having terminology for that. I was comfortable in various cultures and understood how to find commonalities within diversity,” she smiles. That, she says, definitely fed her creative work as she has consistently been seeking those bridges and magic connection points between genres and cultures.
Making music with many
Anoushka has collaborated or performed with music greats like Sting, Lenny Kravetz, Herbie Hancock, and Joshua Bell. “Next, I would love to collaborate with Bjork,” she says.
So what has been her most memorable moment? “I’m fortunate enough to find that a very difficult question. I’ve been performing for 29 years and recording for 26 years; and across that time, life has been completely full of memorable experiences,” she says, adding that some were iconic, high-octane moments, big stages and big names, while others were simply about deeply profound connections with people through music. “It’s an incredible joy to make music,” she signs off.
“Creating is a spiritual and deeply connecting act. I love the feeling when ideas follow and I am in that lock with other musicians in a studio.”
Over time, as I toured extensively around the world, I realised people were no longer coming to hear what Ravi Shankar’s daughter sounded like, but because they were aware of my sound and wanted to hear that; and that has been hugely gratifying.” — Anoushka Shankar
