3 min readMumbaiMar 3, 2026 12:38 PM IST
Sitarist Rishab Rikhiram Sharma has claimed that he was the final disciple of the late sitar legend Pandit Ravi Shankar; a claim strongly disputed by Shankar’s daughter, sitarist Anoushka Shankar. And now in a recent conversation with Grazia, Rishab revisited these assertions, recounting his first encounter with the maestro and how the legendary musician decided to mentor him.
‘Rishab is very talented but needs grooming’: Pandit Ravi Shankar
He described how, as a child, he performed at a memorial concert in Delhi featuring “giants of the Delhi classic circuit,” a performance that was eventually uploaded online. The recording eventually reached Pandit Ravi Shankar through Sukanya Shankar in Encinitas, prompting a summons. “I assumed it was a polite listening session, so I packed my sitar, brought flowers and sweets,” Rishab said. “But instead, I walked into a Gandabandh puja, an initiation ceremony. There was a long chat about whether I had other gurus,” he recalled. “And at the end he said, ‘He is very talented but needs grooming. Whatever life I have left, I would love to teach him.’”
Rishab went on to describe the intense years that followed. “My mom would grab me from school at halftime, around 9 or 10. We would drive to the Ravi Shankar Centre in Chanakyapuri. He would sit with me for two hours. Then I’d go downstairs to the studio and revise with my uncle. Six hours of playing every single day when Guruji was around.” While the schedule resembled athletic training more than artistic mentorship, Rishab described it as “the most magical moment.”
Not a disciple: Ravi Shankar Centre
Despite Rishab’s repeated assertions, the Ravi Shankar Centre issued an official statement, disputing his claims. The statement acknowledged Rishabh Sharma’s talent but clarified that, to honour Pandit Ravi Shankar’s legacy, it was necessary to correct “false timelines, misunderstandings about teaching, and misuse of the word ‘disciple.’”
Also Read | Rishab Rikhiram, Anoushka Shankar and the question of lineage
The statement emphasised that no formal Gandabandh ceremony had taken place according to traditional custom. It further explained: “In the Parampara of Indian Classical Music and the Centre, the word ‘disciple’ carries deep meaning. It is not symbolic, and it is not established through an informal moment. It is a relationship that evolves over many years of guidance and shared commitment. A few lessons and a brief appearance in a concert/video cannot be considered equivalent to that level of formal, rigorous, and immersive training and commitment.”
Anoushka Shankar also recently reiterated the informal nature of Rishab’s association with her father during a Humans of Bombay podcast, “I think there is some misunderstanding about his guruship. He learnt very intensively with someone very dear to me, one of my father’s senior disciples Parimal Sadaphal, and he had a couple of lessons with my father, very informally, with Parimal uncle also in the room.”
