Rishab Sharma fires back at Anoushka Shankar with proof as she denies he was father Ravi Shankar’s disciple | Entertainment-others News
5 min readNew DelhiFeb 20, 2026 06:13 PM IST
Musician Anoushka Shankar recently denied the claims of sitarist Rishab Rikhiram Sharma being a disciple of her father, Pandit Ravi Shankar. She said that while Rishab is talented, her father was never his guru. Now, the sitarist and music producer has hit back at Anoushka, along with an official statement and pictures with Ravi Shankar as proof of their guru-shishya relationship.
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Rishab Rikhiram Sharma, who belongs to the Rikhi Ram family of instrument makers, has built a strong fan following, known for becoming the first sitarist to perform a solo set at the White House. However, his credibility of being the last and youngest disciple of the late icon was challenged by Shankar’s daughter, Anoushka.
Now, in a statement released by Rishab’s team, he claimed that he was personally assessed by Pandit Ravi Shankar in 2012, and then formally accepted him as his disciple through the Ganda Bandhan ceremony. “On 3rd January 2012, at the Ravi Shankar Centre (Saraswati Pooja Hall), a private meeting was held at the express request of Pandit Ravi Shankar between 13-year-old Rishab Rikhiram Sharma, his parents Sanjay and Manjul Sharma, his brother Mukul Sharma, Pandit Parimal Sadaphal, Shruti Sadamal, and Panditji with his wife Sukanya Shankar. This followed a personal call from Panditji to Sanjay Sharma on 2nd January, requesting Rishab’s presence for the Ganda Bandhan ceremony the next day,” a part of the statement read.
It further detailed their lessons, which went on for several hours and added, “Sukanya Shankar noted that during their stay in the USA she had shown Panditji a YouTube recording of Rishab performing Raag Tilak Kamod at a Sanjay Rikhi Ram Vadya Parampara event in New Delhi on 10th February 2011. After reviewing the recording again on the morning of 3rd January, Pandit Ravi Shankar decided to accept Rishab as a Shishya, intending to personally nurture his potential.”
“He asked Rishab to perform the same raag, listened attentively, demonstrated and corrected the composition, and conducted a formal lesson lasting several hours. Panditji clarified that while he might not always be physically present, Pandit Parimal Sadaphal would supervise structured training, with periodic remote progress reviews. The session culminated in the formal Ganda Bandhan ceremony, during which Panditji tied the traditional red thread around Rishab’s wrist and spoke of Kartavya Vidya, emphasizing that while the thread may physically break, the spiritual Guru-Shishya bond endures for life.”
The young sitarist recalled how he was even invited to perform at the memorial of Ravi Shankar, after he passed away in December 2012. “On 10th February 2012, at a Sanjay Rikhi Ram Vadya Parampara event held at Kamani Auditorium, Pandit Ravi Shankar publicly introduced 13-year-old Rishab Rikhiram Sharma on stage as his youngest disciple, in the presence of Sukanya Shankar, members of the Sharma family, fellow disciples, and the assembled audience. This marked Panditji’s final public appearance in India before relocating to his overseas residence in the United States.”
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“At the same event, Panditji formally launched the electric sitar ‘rikEsitar,’ conceived by Sanjay Sharma, and announced that Rishab would perform Raga Pancham Se Gara, which he had studied under Panditji’s guidance. The on-stage introduction served as a clear and public acknowledgment of their teacher-student relationship. Following Pandit Ravi Shankar’s passing in December 2012, Rishab was invited by Sukanya Shankar to perform at the maestro’s memorial gathering at Nehru Park on 10th March 2013, alongside other disciples from Panditji’s extended teaching lineage. From 2013 onwards, Pandit Parimal Sadaphal continued Rishab Rikhiram Sharma’s training in accordance with the guidance and directives of Pandit Ravi Shankar, a mentorship that has persisted to date,” the official statement concluded.
What Anoushka Shankar said about Rishab Rikhiram
During an interview with Humans Of Bombay earlier, Anoushka had said, “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 continued, “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.”
