A video shared by playback singer Bismal on Instagram in December 2022 had gone viral, especially among musicians and music lovers. The video shows musical instruments packed in hard cases being thrown into the cargo van of Indigo Airlines by the ground staff. This aggravated the already existing disappointment among musicians who have been facing similar experiences across the country. Sharing the post, Bismil wrote, “That's how Indigo treats our instruments. Instruments are the most precious for any artist and it feels really sad to see how Indigo is throwing them like trash. We had literally told them to please deal with instruments with care and paid Rs 30,000 extra for our extra baggage. All my fellow artists please be very careful when you give your bags to Indigo. This is very disappointing.”
While Bismal faced an issue with Indigo Airlines, musicians who usually take flights for their shows say that the situation is the same across airlines. Though some of the social media posts are going viral only now, this problem has been rampant for years. Most musicians have either themselves experienced damage to their musical instruments while travelling by air, or they know someone who has. In order to avoid the same, musicians are finding ‘safe’ alternatives to protect their instruments.
“For us, musical instruments are our livelihood. How can we travel in peace with such delicate items on the flight, if the handling is so bad?” asks Prashobh Ramachandran, a musician whose musical instruments were damaged in January on a flight from Bangalore to Vishakapatanam. Prashobh took to social media to escalate the issue and also raised a formal complaint with AirAsia, the airline he travelled with.
Musicians say that since instruments are very sensitive, even the slightest damage to the structure can disrupt the output. Soham, a musician based in Hyderabad, recalls, “Recently, an adapter that powers my vocal processor got damaged, due to which I could not use it in my show. The adapter was inside a padded bag. I did not have the time to go and get it repaired before the show. It only cost me Rs.100 to restore later on, but that instrument has become useless because of that small damage.” The incident happened when Soham was travelling for a show from Ranchi to Delhi on January 25.
Soham added that some of the musicians also try to rent out instruments at the locations where there is a show instead of using their own fearing the damage at the airports. Soham further added that these days, Indigo and other airlines do not use the “fragile” stickers, making it harder for them to carry sensitive instruments. Prashobh also explained that Rupees 35 thousand was paid as a special handling fee to ensure that their instruments worth lakhs would be handled with care. Despite this, their instruments, especially a guitar’s hard case, was completely broken.
Roopa, a violinist, said that even in her circle of Carnatic musicians, this problem has been rampant. Many times, the Ghatam, a pot-like musical instrument, has been damaged similarly. Roopa added that she takes her violin with her on the flight and so has never faced such issues.
Flint Eastwood, a musician whose instruments were also damaged in the past, says that the problem lies with the ground staff and this is something that airlines must rectify. “At the counter, we inform the staff that the instruments are fragile and they scan the barcode, making sure to send it carefully with a person. But after that, we get disconnected from the process. So on the top, they try to show that everything is taken care of. Airlines authorities might know that the instruments are delicate, but at the cargo belt things are different. Proper induction must be given to the ground staff,” Flint says.
While this problem is persistent, some musicians are resorting to longer journeys instead of short flights, just to be sure that their instruments are not damaged. Speaking to TNM, musician Ashwin Aiyar says, “We are even taking a long 15-hour road route from Hyderabad to Goa instead of a flight just to be sure that our musical instruments are transported safely.” Ashwin recalls that despite paying an additional Rupees two thousand for special handling, their guitar case was damaged badly while travelling to Goa on an Air Asia flight. Though he raised a formal complaint, no action was taken.
After a long fight with AirAsia, Prashobh and his team got their refund of Rupees 35 thousand which they paid as an additional special handling charge. But not everyone feels ready to go through the tedious process of claiming their money. While some musicians succeed in bringing it to the notice of higher authorities through complaints, others find it a frustrating and time-consuming process and lose hope.
“There was no point raising a complaint, and everything requires a lot of time and does not give you results. I have moved on since in my case the problem was not the cost of repairing, but the security of the instrument and the loss of my time,” adds Soham.