Anoushka Shankar recalls shocking fan encounter

Grammy-nominated sitarist, composer and producer Anoushka Shankar recently shared a deeply personal reflection on social media after an encounter with a fan left her confronting unresolved trauma and the complexities of personal boundaries.

She revealed that a fan lifted her up without consent, after asking if he could, but not waiting for a response, leaving her suddenly suspended in the air before she could react. Taking to her Instagram handle, Anoushka wrote, “I suspended in the air, clasped in a bear hug by a stranger, feet dangling. I had been meeting a few fans after a show and it all happened so fast. I laughed awkwardly and asked to be let down, I signed his poster, I smiled and waved.”