“Most people are musicians simply because they play a certain instrument; when they play that instrument, the music appears. But Ravi (Shankar), to me, he is the music; it just happens to be that he plays the sitar. And it’s like that with Anoushka. She has that quality — she is the music.” That’s George Harrison describing the father-daughter duo in 1997. And when you add the incredible Norah Jones to the equation, the family is the music. That’s what t2 found out in this special chat with Anoushka Shankar at Calcutta Club on Thursday

• You had last come to Calcutta for your album. This time it’s for a concert. Which is more special?
The last time I was here it was three years ago for the recording of Rise (her last album which included the track Red Sun recorded in Calcutta with Bickram Ghosh and Tanmoy Bose). But I am most excited about coming back to do a show in Calcutta. That gap has been longer... five years (she had performed in 2002 with Pandit Ravi Shankar at Nazrul Mancha). I am really looking forward to playing with my father here again.

• Your father seems very excited about playing in Calcutta. Is it a very emotional concert for him?
Definitely! It means a lot to him to come back and play in Calcutta. And I also know that people here in Calcutta love him all that more. So it goes both ways, I guess. I have also grown up knowing that he has this special relationship with this city. So, almost by default, the concert becomes special to me as well.

Anoushka with Norah. Picture by Pabitra Das

• Panditji spoke extensively in Bengali, recalled his days of listening to Sachin Dev Burman and Himangshu Dutta, and said how much he enjoyed the Bengali lunch at Taj Bengal. Is it a very different father you see here in Calcutta?
He is very Bengali wherever he is (laughs out loud). I am quite used to that. But I can definitely see that he is very happy to be here.

• Last year he had been seriously ill. Are you relieved to see him on stage with the sitar again?
More that being relieved it was unreal. Because seeing him perform the way he does these days, nobody quite realises how unwell he was. He hasn’t even healed fully. He is 88 years old and he had double viral pneumonia last year. It is his commitment and dedication that he is doing what he is doing. It’s not expected. Every doctor that sees him can’t believe it’s happening. So it’s a bit of a miracle.

• How different is it when you are playing with your father as opposed to when you are playing by yourself?
There’s a different magic when you are doing your own show. You are presenting your own vision and you have the freedom to make all the choices. And there’s also the extra sort of pressure of carrying your own show. But playing with my father is like... like the whole opportunity of getting to play with someone like my father. Also there’s the relationship we share... that’s very special. But then again my role is completely different. I am more of an assistant. So it’s in a completely different brain capacity.

• And is most of the music that he plays on stage impromptu?
Absolutely! I mean, he doesn’t plan anything he does (laughs). But it’s not scary... it’s a lot of fun. Many years ago it might have been scary to me but with all these years of playing together, I have started to enjoy it.

Pandit Ravi Shankar with daughter Norah Jones. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

• Coming to your albums, Rise established you as a super sitarist and got you a Grammy nomination. But your new album Breathing Under Water, with Karsh Kale, sounds more experimental...
Yes, I did it for fun (laughs). This album was a way of saying that I didn’t need to hold back myself in any way anymore. I could now make the kind of albums I wanted to without having to think about genres or marketing or styling... I just wanted to get together with a group of musicians I have a chemistry with or I had a relationship with. And be able to kind of push each other. Breathing Under Water is about musical relationships. Karsh Kale and I are able to write music very easily together and have different strengths. So the pieces became stronger than what we could have made alone. And we started reaching out to more and more musicians like Sting, Midival Punditz, Salim Merchant, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Norah and my father. On a personal level all these dialogues were happening and they were getting represented musically as well. It’s a very big and ambitious record.

• The track Easy is the first time Norah and you have collaborated musically. How was the experience?
It was great! As musicians it was great to share thoughts with each other for the first time. I mean, she made that little song quite magical.

• Norah is travelling with you this time. It must be fun having her around...
She is my sister. We obviously share a special bond. She is here for a little while now... just a two-week holiday in India... and she is spending some time with the family.

• So it’s like one big happy family...
Come on, we are just a small family (laughs).

• What’s next from Anoushka Shankar?
I am very ambitious... I am really involved in shaping whatever I am into. But I don’t really want to see too many years in advance. I feel you change as a person all the time. I like the creative process to be a lot more in the moment.