Sitarist Anoushka Shankar skipped the Grammy Awards 2026.
She revealed her decision not to attend the Grammys 2026 was a conscious choice.
Shankar chose mental health over everything.
Grammy Awards 2026: Sitar player Anoushka Shankar was nominated in two categories — Best Global Music Album and Best Global Music Performance, but won neither. The sitarist and composer is currently in India, performing with her band and skipped the 2026 Grammy Awards. Ahead of the ceremony, she took to her Instagram handle to reveal the reason behind skipping the Grammys 2026.
Why Anoushka Shankar didn't attend the Grammys 2026
On Sunday, taking to her Instagram handle, Anoushka Shankar wrote, "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! (sic)"
"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 (sic)."
She made a conscious decision not to attend the Grammys 2026 and "to be on the road in India during the ceremony." She wanted to practice what she preaches, that awards don't matter, "like the actual connection playing music for people affords us as artists."
Anoushka Shankar focuses on mental health
The sitarist has chosen her mental health over anything and said that 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 (sic)."
"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 (sic)," she wrote further.
Shankar ended her post, adding, "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 (sic)."
She also wished everyone nominated at the 68th Grammy Awards.
Have a look at the full post of Anoushka Shankar here.
Apart from Anoushka, other Indian artists, including Alam Khan, Sarathy Korwar, Siddhant Bhatia, Shakti, and Charu Suri, were also nominated at the 2026 Grammys.
