MUMBAI: Acclaimed sitar player, producer, film composer and activist Anoushka Shankar will be returning to India for a three-city tour this December. With a flair for making the sitar speak a number of musical languages, the sitar-playing extraordinaire will be touring in support of her new music releases. The Mumbai event is organized by A Field Productions and the India Tour is curated by Alchemist Marketing Solutions and will mark her return to India after a 2-year pandemic hiatus, with her last tour on home turf being conducted in the year 2020.

Kickstarting on the 11th of December at Good Shepherd Auditorium in Bengaluru, followed by Shanmukhananda Auditorium in Mumbai on the 16th of December and culminating at SiriFort Auditorium in New Delhi on the 18th of December, the 7-time Grammy-nominated, genre-defying artiste will present the “Anoushka Shankar Project” which has been performing live since 2007.

Attendees can expect to be transported to a wide-ranging musical cosmos of modern electronic presentations inspired by lineage, followed by fiery acoustic and genre-bending compositions at the shows. Anoushka will be seen navigating through experimental and exciting new sonic vistas throughout her performance and presenting an invigorating perspective on Indian classical music.

In the first half of the evening, Anoushka will be joined by British electronic musician Gold Panda (aka Derwin Decker) in interpreting the legacy of the legendary Pandit Ravi Shankar. The duo will form a collaborative bridge between the electronic and classical instrumental worlds inspired by and referencing several of the late maestro’s compositions

In the second half of the evening, a quintet of musicians comprising clarinettist Arun Ghosh, Carnatic percussionist Pirashanna Thevarajah, drummer Sarathy Korwar and upright bassist Tom Farmer will accompany Anoushka for an inventive exploration of selected works from her own repertoire including her recently released digital album Between Us...

Elaborating further on the India tour and her new music releases Anoushka Shankar shares, "I’m beyond excited to finally return to India to perform after such a long gap. I feel I’m in a different place musically and creatively now, and I can’t wait to share this new and exciting show with my audiences in India. I’m blessed to have a group of truly exceptional musicians joining me this time and I hope people enjoy the music!"

The evening will conclude with the release of a reimagined version of her 2013 track In Jyoti's Name from her album Traces Of You as a tribute to Nirbhaya on her 10th death anniversary while also saluting the indomitable spirit of women across the world.

Titled In Her Name, she will be performing the world premiere of this new song on its release day at the Mumbai show. This extended arrangement includes other, powerful female voices: the music features a new, specially-written poem by acclaimed poet Nikita Gill while the accompanying music video pivots around a powerful performance by Bharanatyam dancer Mythili Prakash, supported by artwork curated by artist-activist Shilo Shiv Suleyman.

Talking about In Her Name, Anoushka Shankar adds, “How is it that ten years after the heartbreaking gang-rape and murder that sent shockwaves of horror around the world, we are still inundated by stories of women who are attacked, murdered, policed, and unable to live in freedom and safety? The same ripping feeling in my gut that I felt in 2012 manifests over and over when I read of any one of these precious losses of life. With In Her Name, we have tried to broaden the lens across the current global female experience, fighting for safety, for freedom from fear and for freedom of choice.”

Recently, her latest album Between Us... which arrived via Nils Frahm’s LEITER label in July earlier this year, was performed at the Barbican, London to a full house on the 15th of October. Embracing the spirit of collaboration for which the celebrated sitar player is often known, the album features regular collaborator – and master of the Hang a.k.a. hand pan – Manu Delago alongside Holland’s Metropole Orkest, directed by conductor and arranger Jules Buckley, the renowned orchestra’s honorary conductor since 2020. The album was recorded in 2018 during a short run of shows in the Netherlands and is her first live album since 2001’s Live At Carnegie Hall. It gleans material from her four solo albums, 2005’s Rise, 2013’s Traces Of You, 2015’s Traveller and 2016’s Land of Gold – but also features the previously unreleased track Jannah. The album comprises of Anoushka’s compositions reinvented in a gloriously modern and new orchestral space.

Speaking about the Mumbai Event, Aditya Gupte, Director- A Field Productions said, “We are delighted to present eminent artiste- Anoushka Shankar to Mumbai for the show. The artiste will be performing a curated set of her compositions for the Mumbai audience post her hiatus. We are confident of providing music lovers with a soulful evening of music at the event.”

Anujita Jain, CEO, Alchemist Marketing Solutions echoed the sentiment, "We are elated to bring Anoushka Shankar to the fantastic audiences of Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru with a never-before performed set of music. "We have got a like-minded partner in Brookfield Properties for the tour. Alchemist Live opens its year after a long hiatus with a world-class production like this, ahead of the 4th season of Delhi Theatre Festival that would be announced soon.”

Tickets for the tour can be purchased on www.bookmyshow.com Prices start INR 750 upwards.