Being a new mother and seeing Europe's refugee crisis escalate, sowed the seed for Anoushka Shankar's latest album. But more than a year since, the sitarist's music has found resonance with many global events ­ Brexit, Donald Trump's promise of building a wall to stop non-Americans from entering the US illegally and then becoming President, and even the heightened tension between India and Pakistan. She agrees that in times of war, art becomes secondary, but stresses that there has to be cultural exchange between the two countries for things to move forward. Anoushka, who has been nominated for a Grammy for the sixth time, is touring India with her sons Zubin (five) and Mohan (almost two). Excerpts:

You've said that the birth of your second son coinciding with the escalation of the refugee crisis inspired your latest album. You've also said how the images of Aylan Kurdi (the Syrian toddler who washed up dead on a Turkish beach) influenced your title song. That image solidified the issue for a lot of people, for whom it was just a headline before. Did it do that for you as well?
It made me weep, but I was making this album even before that image surfaced. The whole summer was such an escalation of that crisis. The day that image was out everywhere was the day that we ended up recording the song Land Of Gold, which really crystallised and became the centre, and the title. So we wrote the song based on that, in response to the horrible images of the child, but the album as a whole was in response to the overall feeling of injustice and imbalance in the world, and this feeling that millions of people 'have', and millions of people 'don't have'. And how it's like a lottery, and how unfair that is. And just trying to make sense of it and express my feelings about that.

Do you think the album wouldn't have come about, or come about the same, if you were not a parent?
Being a parent is so central to who I am, and everything I do is a product of who I am. So it's hard to dissect and separate. But there was something very particular about being a parent again. It's a very vulnerable, very open time period. It's so primitive and raw. You know, sometimes we are more sensitive than other times. And I think having such a huge humanitarian crisis coincide with a personal event was too big to bear, really. The idea that there were so many other mothers simply trying to have the same thing for their children that I already had for my child, and the wrongness of that, was disturbing. When I was younger, images of children in the news, in poverty, would make me sad, but not in the same way as now. Once you're a parent, every child looks like your child.

After the recent terror attack, the debate around cultural exchange between India and Pakistan has been pretty charged. Do you think in times like this, art naturally has to take a backseat?
Well, that's always the case, isn't it? If you look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs, it's always about survival first. That will always be the case. Obviously, life and death is more important than art, but art is essential for the human soul. And I think it is through art that human beings across the world are able to reach higher parts of their consciousness, and it's from that raised level of consciousness that we are able to be our best selves. So I think it plays a part in raising us as humans to our best possible place.

Do you then think that we should have cultural exchanges with Pakistan?
We should always have conversations and exchanges. Look what's happened now. When you talk about Trump, there's an echo chamber - we all have friends on Facebook who agree with us, and so we all hit 'like' and 'share' and we think it's all fine, and then suddenly everyone gets bludgeoned and shocked. It happened with Brexit as well, where until the day it happened, nobody expected it. For me, if you think of things on a macro scale, it's the same as on a micro scale. What would you say to a husband and wife? If they have an awkward problem, do they just brush it under the carpet? Or is it better to have the awkward conversation, even if it's a little bit ugly, or a bit of a fight, or there are tears and it's scary, because that's where you understand each other, and that's how you heal. So the same thing happens to people on a larger scale. People have to be able to connect, you have to be able to understand your differences, and then from there, you can go somewhere different. If we just start shutting doors and not talk to each other, then we are just propagating the same ideas again and again.

What was your reaction to Donald Trump's victory? Were you shocked, too?
I think Brexit was a shock, and after that, Trump was as devastating, but it wasn't a shock. Because you can see what's happening in the world right now, it's a global thing. There's a big shift to the right, and it's scary.

Trump hasn't been very kind to the two causes you have stood up for - women and minorities. How disturbing is that, that his voice reaches far more people than an artiste could hope to reach with their music?
I don't have the answer to that, I only have hope. One never knows what's going to happen, I want to try and be on the right side of history, and of my conscience. So where I can use my voice, I'll use it; where I can use my art, I'll use that. If that helps, great, if it doesn't, I tried my best. But I do think that numbers make a big difference. As artistes, it is our responsibility to collectively use our voice and not feel that fear.

Living in London, how directly have you felt the refugee crisis?
Keenly. It's hard to answer, because it's happening over there, and it's coming to us. We can just make an effort to understand the feeling of people trying to come to safety. But I've been terribly ashamed of the British government, for the way it's been dealing with it. I was part of a couple of letters that were written to the British government that got published, and part of a movement to sponsor children who are coming to the UK. The way we have been acting, especially with unaccompanied minors, is horrific and shameful.

Post Brexit, is there a palpable anti-immigrant sentiment? Perhaps not so much for you, but for someone who takes the bus or the tube to work?
I take the bus and the tube to work (laughs)! Yeah, the week end of Brexit, my mum's assistant was told to go back to 'her effing country'. It's definitely happening. London, as the cosmopolitan, international city, was cushioned to some extent. It's not as bad in London as it has been in other places. But you feel it.

You previously wrote a song for Nirbhaya and joined the gender equality movement that followed. Now, you're addressing the next big issue. Is your music moving into the activism space?
Yes, and at the same time, I have no idea what the next few albums might be. It might be something very personal again, but I think activism is increasingly a part of my life, and so as a musician, it makes sense that it's also reflecting in my music. I think ultimately, it's more about growing up. In the sense that a lot of my thoughts about my music earlier were about trying to send the right message what people expected of me, who people thought I was. And the older I'm getting, the less I care about all of that, and it's more about just playing - this is what I feel, this is my truth, this is who I am, this is what I want to say. And I think that kind of courage enables a stronger message. Because you have to take a stand to make a statement, which takes knowing yourself and being sure of yourself. Couple of benefits to getting a little older!

How crazy is touring with two little boys?
Well, I got vomited on about six times on our way to Delhi! It's very glamourous, touring that way. My little one gets carsick. I have to plan very carefully. I got to the first city and realised my hoodie was completely covered in vomit. I just hadn't noticed. Yeah, it's very glamourous!