Just wanted to send out a quick message to pass on the sad news that the legendary Ali Akbar Khan-sahib has passed away. He was one of our greatest musicians, and like a brother to my father, as he was the son of my father's guru, and his one-time brother-in-law. I loved him dearly. Needless to say, we're all very shaken, and are sending love and prayers to his family. Please keep them in your thoughts.

Oh my God! Last night in Davis, there was an electrical fire at the venue 5 mins before start time. The fire alarm went off and I ran in to my dad's room to make sure he was getting out and then went back to do a quick sweep of my room. What a grab? Sitar, mizrab, my grandmother's necklace, handbag.

2000 people had to be evacuated, crew and musicians waiting on grass outside backstage area, me sitting all dressed, sitar in lap, trying to entertain everyone with stupid jokes and dumb charades. Firemen put the fire out, and we did the show an hour late. We didn't light any incense though (ha, ha...)

The crew were amazing, getting people back inside without the announcement system working. And the audience was super calm and organized and then really supportive of us during the show.

Thank God it was California and gorgeous weather while it all happened! And no one was hurt so it's all just a fun story now...

Hey everyone,

I appeal you to come to tomorrow's concert in Kolkata, or tell anyone you know here to come.

It's a benefit concert to help save the lives of twenty young children with hole-in-heart disease, whose families cannot afford the surgery required for them. I met five of the kids yesterday for whom money has already been raised with ticket sales, but the other fifteen won't last a year unless we raise the money.

Tickets are just Rs.1,000 each.

The show is part of a tour I'm doing this month, finally bringing my band The Anoushka Shankar Project to India. More dates/info available on my page or at www.anoushkashankar.com

Thanks for your support.
Anoushka

Hi everyone,

Thrilled to say the Chicago world-premier of the Sitar Concerto #3 for Anoushka and The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra got a stunning review!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/chi-0127-shankarjan27,0,330263.story

Don't miss the last three shows. Carnegie Hall is a near-sellout at this point. But it will be broadcast live on New York's WNYC at 8pm EST so you can also tune in that way.

Continue to watch webisodes of the rehearsal process at www.orpheusraga.com

I hope you enjoy! In the meanwhile, I'm just trying to stay warm. though New York feels like nothing after Chicago, how do people live there?!

Thanks for your support!
Anoushka Shankar

Hey everyone,

Tickets are on sale for the world premier concerts of Ravi Shankar's "Sitar Concerto #3 for Anoushka and Orchestra." I'll be performing with the fabulous Orpheus orchestra, famous for performing without a conductor! I'm excited and apprehensive to work in that format and so looking forward to finally performing this beautiful new piece of music.

The mini-tour kicks off in Chicago with shows at:

25th January: Chicago, IL
29th January: Easton, PA
30th January: South Orange, NJ
31st January: Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

(details about each show are up on my myspace page)

Don't miss this unusual concert!

Thanks SO MUCH for your support,
Anoushka Shankar

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for the concern and wishes you've posted on my Myspace site in the wake of Mumbai's recent terror attacks. As you know we had to postpone our concert there on November 29th. I would now like to announce the new information about this date.

Please join me and Jethro Tull at our Billion Hands Concert in Mumbai, at Shanmukhnanda Auditorium on the 5th of December. This concert is a benefit for victims of Mumbai's recent terror attacks, and is a reschedule of the concert we planned to do there on 29th November.

Please join us in our concert against terror. For more information, go to www.abillionhands.com

To purchase tickets, please visit www.bookmyshow.com/concerts

Thank you for your support.
Anoushka Shankar

Dear Friends,

It's truly with a heavy heart that I write to say tomorrow's concert has been cancelled, or hopefully just postponed about a week.

Today Jethro Tull's and my full band and crew sat and weighed the odds and decided to COME for tomorrow's show in support and solidarity, and also to turn the concert into a benefit for the victims of the atrocities in Mumbai. Five minutes after we made the decision, fresh attacks and blasts occurred in the city, and if nothing else, for the safety of people traveling with us, we had to decide to at least postpone the concert.

It angers me when terrorism "wins" in this way and something like music has to be stopped. It speaks volumes for the spirit of Mumbai that people had actually continued to buy tickets for the concert in the last two days, and we had hoped to be there in the same spirit, to honour the victims and send our best possible energies the best way we know-through music.

But all we can all do is send our thoughts and prayers up and hope all the madness ends.

As for the concert, I will keep you updated as to whether the concert will happen next week or is simply cancelled, due to logistics. Thank you for your support.

Warm wishes,
Anoushka

Hey everyone,

thanks for all the well wishes for the upcoming Jethro Tull tour! We had a great rehearsal today, and I'm really excited about our first concert in Kolkata tomorrow. A little nervous too, of course, but overall really looking forward to the whole experience! Ian Anderson and his entire band are just such wonderful musicians, it's really a pleasure to play with them, and a great challenge to step out of my own comfort zone and play all this music.

It's quite an intense couple of weeks, as it just got settled that immediately after this tour I go to Mumbai to take part in Live Earth India.

Needless to say, I'm really proud and happy that Live Earth is taking place in Mumbai on December 7th. It's going to be an amazing concert with incredible artists and speakers from around the world coming to join hands to raise awareness about climate change and ways to address the issue.

I'll be performing with The Anoushka Shankar Project as part of the show, and I'm really excited to announce that I'll also be playing in duet with Roger Waters from Pink Floyd. How crazy! Please come and lend your support, or tune in via radio, internet or tv.

Thank you so much, truly, for all your support and encouragement and kind words. Best wishes to all of you in what you do, in music, the arts or otherwise...let's keep the energy alive and kicking...!

Anoushka

for more information on Live Earth please visit

http://liveearth.org/2008/11/live-earth-india-performers-announced-tickets-on-sale-now/

Or to book tickets for the show go to

http://www.bookmyshow.com/liveearthindia/
___________

Live Earth India will reach millions of viewers worldwide on three of STAR's highly popular channels across Asia and beyond: STAR PLUS in India; STAR WORLD in South East Asia, Hong Kong and India; and CHANNEL [V] in India.

Online
music fans will be able to experience Live Earth India on MSN at www.msnindia.com/liveearth.


BIG 92.7 FM, the No.1 FM radio station in India, has committed to promote and broadcast the concert across the country, reaching 200 million people nationwide.

This event is planned to start at 1:00 pm on Dec 7, 2008 at Andheri Sports Complex.
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Hey everyone,

Hope you're all well! Am writing to let you know about my upcoming duet concert tour with Jethro Tull.

We'll be playing Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Dubai between Nov 27th and Dec 4th.

Very exciting!!! Have been emailing musical ideas back and forth with Ian Anderson for the last few months. But aside form having breakfast together in London in October, we'll only get together the day before the first show for a manic rehearsal, should be interesting!! We'll be playing some of my stuff, some of their stuff, and some new things...

The link to purchase tickets for the shows within India is:

http://www.bookmyshow.com/concerts/

Dubai sales information will follow shortly.

Thanks as always, for your support!
Anoushka