Luggage lost, friends found: Anoushka Shankar delivers packed performance in Berlin with borrowed kit

Sitarist Anoushka Shankar’s cry for help in Berlin after she lost her luggage in transit caught the attention of many social media users who helped her source a ‘mizrab, makeup and more’—and saved her sold out concert at the Berlin Philharmonic.

It all started when Shankar, who was in Berlin on Wednesday for the last performance on her Europe tour, lost her luggage that included all her clothes other than her ‘super casual travel gear’, but more importantly her ‘mizrabs’ - a custom-fitted finger pick or plectrum.

‘Help!!! Anyone in Berlin play sitar and have mizrabs I can borrow for my show TONIGHT?! And any clothes smarter than my super casual travel gear?! Lost baggage strikes again!’ Shankar wrote on X, tagging KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

The 43-year-old musician and daughter of sitar legend Pandit Ravi Shankar was on a tour of Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium, according to her website.

Help!!! Anyone in Berlin play sitar and have mizrabs I can borrow for my show TONIGHT?! And any clothes smarter than my super casual travel gear?! Lost baggage strikes again! @KLM

— Anoushka Shankar (@ShankarAnoushka) October 2, 2024

Social media networks got into action.

Some offered help by reaching out to contacts in Berlin and there were others who suggested stores in Berlin selling Indian clothes.

However, there was no further communication from Shankar till Thursday midnight when she put out a post on Instagram.

The concert happened, and was clearly a success.

Shankar posted a photograph of herself, wearing an elegant black dress and holding the sitar, thanking Saurabh Shekhar Verma for the borrowed mizrab and social media at large for spreading her request across different platforms.

‘What a whirlwind our final date of tour was, from the moment we touched down in Berlin! Yesterday’s airline-displaced suitcase with my sitar kit including mizrab (custom-fitted finger pick), in-ear monitors, plus all of my show outfits and makeup, was a pretty gnarly start to the day!

‘No matter though, because in true chaotic by-hook-or-by-crook tour fashion we sourced a locally-owned mizrab, makeup and more just in time for us to take to the stage for our sold out show at @berlinphil. (I’m glad I had one nice dinner outfit in my personal bag),’ the London-based musician said.

She added that despite the inevitable stress of it all, ‘how beautiful it is to have a crew and a wider community that comes together so quickly for a common goal’.

Acknowledging the power of social media, she said she was in awe of how quickly her ‘cry for help’ was tagged and reshared.

‘And what a special show it was—no time to settle or get comfortable. We played on the tips of our toes last night, feeding off the energy of our incredible, generous audience, so alert to each other, so responsive. I’ll never forget it. Special shout out to @saurabhshekharv for the borrowed mizrab- I couldn’t have played properly without it!’ she wrote.

If it weren’t for social media, Shankar quipped that she had plans to use ‘duct tape, a roll of wire and little pliers’ to create makeshift mizrabs.