Anoushka Shankar on Rishabh Rikhiram being called Ravi Shankar’s ‘last disciple’: ‘My father was never his guru’ | Bollywood News
Sitarist Rishab Rikhiram Sharma has frequently been called as the last and youngest disciple of legendary musician Pandit Ravi Shankar – a claim he has also referenced in past interviews while speaking about his musical journey. However, Anoushka Shankar has now clarified that he was never formally a disciple of her father.
In a recent conversation with Humans Of Bombay, Anushka spoke about sitar and its growing reach across audiences.
“I think it’s really wonderful to see the sitar brought into its horizon the way it has, whether that’s within India or abroad. Having lots of people taking it forward is a wonderful thing. I think anyone who can challenge the notion of sitar just belonging to a certain way or certain space — all of that is wonderful.”
Anoushka says Rishab is not his father’s disciple
Anoushka praised Rishab’s talent but addressed what she described as a misunderstanding surrounding his musical lineage.
“Rishab is really talented and he is clearly speaking to people in a really wonderful way. 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.”
She also noted that the families shared a longstanding association.
“We knew him from childhood because he was the son of our instrument maker Sanjay Rikiram Sharma. So somehow that has gone blown up into some story of him being his last disciple or the youngest disciple, which isn’t true. But he is super talented and deserves all success with or without that story.”
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Anoushka Shankar is currently finishing her ‘Chapters Tour 2026’ in India, a major tour celebrating 30 years of her career. At her Kolkata concert, Arijit Singh also joined her and percussionist Bickram Ghosh for an extended 20-minute set, marking his first performance after announcing retirement from playback singing.
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What Rishab Sharma had said about Pandit Ravi Shankar being his guru
In earlier interviews, Rishab had shared his own account of how Pandit Ravi Shankar became his mentor.
In a conversation with Bani Anand, he described how the connection began, “My father Sanjay Rikiram took over my Guruji’s sitar work after my grandfather’s demise. From my first live concert, a video reached Guruji. He saw that video and called my dad and said, ‘Is this your son you are telling me about?’ My father said yes. Guruji said, ‘Whenever I am in Delhi, please bring him over.’ Once we were there, Guruji was like, ‘OK, take out your sitar and play for me a little bit.’ I played and then he picked up his guitar and played the same composition.”
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He went on to describe what he considered a life-changing conversation. “After that he turned to my parents and said, ‘With your permission, your kid has a lot of talent, I would love to be his guru and teach him,’ and I saw my parents’ jaw drop to the floor because God himself had come down and said, ‘Can I teach your child?’ So my dad didn’t have the courage to ask him. For him to offer to be my guru was amazing.”
According to Rishab, this marked the beginning of his learning journey from Pandit Ravi Shankar.
“He turned to me and said, ‘I don’t know how much life I have left, but whatever I have, please take it from me as soon as possible,’ and I said I will try my best, Guruji. And then my lessons started after that.”
‘My music reminds them of Guruji’
In another interview with WION, Rishab had credited Pandit Ravi Shankar as a major influence on his music.
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“I have to say it’s my Guru, Pandit Ravi Shankar. Whatever I know is because of him and his disciples who taught me after his demise. They showed me his way and it was not that they just taught me his compositions, but they taught me how to think like him. Guruji always said, ‘Don’t copy me, but think like me, understand my thought process,’ and I feel like I have adapted and incorporated that into my music. Probably that is why a lot of people say that my music reminds them of Guruji.”
About Rishab Rikhiram Sharma
A sitarist and music producer from the Rikhi Ram lineage of instrument makers, Rishab carries forward a deep-rooted musical legacy. Along with the classical tradition, he also studied Music Production and Economics in New York City.
Sharma has worked to position the instrument within modern musical contexts without losing its classical essence. He has also emerged as a vocal mental health advocate, founding the initiative Sitar For Mental Health, which uses music as a therapeutic tool for emotional well-being.
He is the first sitarist to perform solo at the White House. Over the years, he has performed before large international audiences.
