Anoushka Shankar says she didn’t attend the 2026 Grammy Awards

Sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar, who earned two nominations at the 68th annual Grammy Awards, has revealed why she chose not to attend the event and instead stayed in India for her projects. Taking to Instagram, Anoushka composed a long statement and also addressed whether receiving a Grammy Award truly mattered.

Anoushka included a number of pictures from her most recent performances with the note. She was seen playing the sitar, performing and sharing some enjoyable times with her team members. Anoushka shared the post and said, “It’s Grammy day today! I’m proud to be twice nominated – for my album Chapter III: We Return to Light and for Daybreak, the lead song from the album. These are my 12th and 13th nominations, which in itself is HUGE!”

She opened up about how being part of the event gets her stressed. “At the same time, it feels really good NOT to be in LA getting sucked into the whirlwind of interlocking excitement and stress that comes with major awards events. This year, I made a conscious decision not to go and to be on the road in India during the ceremony. I wanted to practice what I preach, which is that awards don’t matter like the actual connection playing music for people affords us as artists,” she added.

Talking about her mental health, Anoushka said that the days leading up to the event have a lot of preparations, which take a toll on a person. “I wanted to take care of my mental health too- and I have to say, sometimes the process of spending literally thousands of dollars on the privilege of flying, attending, marketing and getting sucked in to the machine, hugely anxious about outfits and red carpets, starting to hope to win and then not winning (again and again!) can take a toll,” she continued further.

She also said how a bigger artist’s name can land in front of voters. “There is always a bigger mainstream artist dropping into our global categories who has MORE money to spend on marketing; there is always an artist who chooses to spend months networking, attending nominee events and ensuring their music and name lands in front of voters. I don’t say this from bitterness, but just to acknowledge what the behind-the-scenes reality can be. If tonight, I happen to win for the first time, of course, it will be a joyful experience, but I truly, truly believe it doesn’t matter in a deeper context,” Anoushka added.

The sitar player talked candidly about her enjoyment of being in India. “Being here in India, where Chapter III really began, working and laughing and playing with my incredible band and crew, is the stuff of reality, of my TRUEST artistic life. Wishing luck and love to everyone nominated tonight- especially those whose music I genuinely love and respect!- and to our audience in Mumbai – we can’t wait to see you!” concluded her note.