Sitar vs. Trumpet

Last month, a trumpeteer was stopped from entering an Air India flight in Paris with his instrument. He protested and the police broke his arm. Yes, exactly like that. I am happy that I didn't protest about the Bowmore at Hong Kong.

IHT reports that a sitar was seen entering the plane just before this incident, which has raised concerns about racial profiling of instruments in aircrafts.

Ponomarev protested vigorously, he said, because he had carried the instrument onto an earlier connecting flight and also had noticed that another passenger was carrying aboard a sitar. His angry complaints attracted the notice of an Air India supervisor, who summoned the police.

Four officers came running to take his trumpet case, but Ponomarev refused to give it to them, prompting one of them to subdue him by wrenching his arm behind his back, breaking it.

The Air India manager threw a rulebook at queries like any good Indian citizen, "Air India required the check-in of large instruments, although it would permit smaller ones."

The only question I have is what was Valery Ponomarev thinking. Does he not read 22nd floor?