Indians could soon be be greeted with sitar or shehnai vaadan at flights and airports in India. The government has advised Indian airlines and airport operators to play Indian music, following a request to the effect from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to the union aviation minister J M Scindia recently.
“Happy to share that having heard the plea of ICCR and music fraternity, Scindia has issued an advisory on playing Indian music in aeroplanes and also in airport premises,” said ICCR president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe.
Play Indian music in aircraft and airports, says Civil Aviation Ministryhttps://t.co/ysBOh5YXTU
— ICCR (@iccr_hq) December 29, 2021
The request was implemented through an advisory letter written by aviation ministry joint secretary Usha Padhee to DGCA chief Arun Kumar and AAI chairman Sanjeev Kumar on Monday. “Music played by most airlines across the globe is quintessential of the country to which the airline belongs, for example, Jazz in American airline or Mozart in Austrian Airline and Arab music in an airline from the Middle East. But Indian airlines seldom play Indian music in flight, whereas, our music has a rich heritage and culture and it has one of the many things every Indian has a reason for truly proud of it,” it says.
“Suggestions made during the meeting included promotion of Indian music in flights operated by Indian air companies,” said ICCR, following the meeting.