Anoushka Shankar: ‘Music speaks to my soul, but it’s not my therapy’

Seated before us for this interview Anoushka Shankar has eyes pinned on her owing to her grace and beauty She doesnrsquot carry the weight of her multiple accolades including the 11 Grammy nominations she has received in the last 20 years or the Oxford honorary doctorate that she was awarded a few months ago The latter she says made her feel ldquovery grown up and properrdquo ldquoHonorary doctorates are rarely given I would joke about receiving them A university does not take the decision to give it lightly Itrsquos a recognition of being an expert in the fieldrdquo she says still seemingly giddy with the title even as she has her eyes set on the upcoming Grammy Awards in which she will vie for two gongsIn this interview Shankar discusses being nominated in the Best Global Music Performance and New Age Album categories and the making of Chapter III We Return To Light the last of her miniseriesEdited excerpts of the interviewIn our past conversations you have though not critically referred to the fact that the categories in which you are often nominated including Global Music Performance may seem restrictiveI did probably critically too Irsquove had a long journey so I donrsquot know if my opinions have changed But I have a greater understanding of the industry and how things work Music on one side is an art form I do this because I love it and because it speaks to my soul And on the other side itrsquos a career And this Grammy nominations definitely falls into that side of things These are jobrelated things The way the industry is carved out globally is trickymdashthe Global Music and New Age Music categories are known to be the hardest categories because theyrsquore not niche People who vote within categories are experts within that field of music Global music is everything thatrsquos not from Europe and America basically music of every kind every culture and every time period There are no experts as such that can vote with the same level of expertise across those categories So while all the awards are subjective these become even more subjective Itrsquos really down to who the voters in those years areA Grammy nomination in itself is of great importance for any artiste A lot of people however want to attach importance to winning it Having received 11 nominations in 20 years do you still see a win as essentialWersquore back to discussing the music business These things have commercial valuemdashif yoursquore a Grammy nominee that affects people subconsciously If you say you are a Grammy winner thatrsquos more impressive So hypothetically winning would have some prestige attached to it But someone told me on my eighth loss lsquoGetting nominated over and over again is a career One potential win and then never being heard of again is a flash in the panrsquo So to be nominated again and again is a huge honour And if I have to be really frank other than the few artistes like my father Pandit Ravi Shankar Zakir uncle Hussain and legends who transcend everything for the rest itrsquos down to whorsquos willing to play the game who does the networking and who shows up for the nomination branches To people who are willing to put in that effort itrsquos cool But thatrsquos not for meI feel each chapter of the miniseries has gotten better After all these years in the industry what do you continue to do to hone your craftIn February I will mark my 30th anniversary as a musician So therersquos been a long arc of progression But in the last few years my focus has been on removing as much filter between me and my music as possible That means allowing myself to be more vulnerable and allowing people access into my craft and the emotions that lead to my music It can seem to be intimidating Irsquom just making melodies music that people can connect to emotionally So Irsquom simplifying it Irsquom choosing to call it play instead of practice And that changes the attitude of how I approach my music Itrsquos playful about making connection Creating vulnerability and closeness with my instrument has been a big part of my recent journey Also when you collaborate with another artiste especially from a different traditional culture you open yourself up to this whole other world and style of musicDoes being vulnerable make you a better musician I wouldnrsquot go so far as to say that music is my therapy It might be my outlet but itrsquos not my therapy My therapy is my therapy Growing up having difficult experiences and learning from that I know that we all need each other I have a language for my experiences I also have experiences that I can help others with Having endured a difficult phase puts me in a place where I can help someone else I started to apply that in my artWhen we hear music that artistes of your kind create we wonder if therersquos scope to bring that within the mainstream music space Do you believe there is scope to bridge these areasThere is a lot of scope to use a wide range of music in Indian films and broaden the range of music that exists But it needs people who are willing to take that chance Within the music and film industries across the globe everything is getting narrowermdashthe people who take the financial decisions take the safest decisions because they feel like itrsquos guaranteed to give back what they invest Itrsquos understandable But therersquos an element of risktaking that needs to happen if you want to go broad Because Indian cinema has opened up to such a large extent there will be a ripple effect and a lot more rooms will open up for the kind of music that supports this