Rishab Rikhiram Sharma, the youngest disciple of Ravi Shankar, is on a journey to revolutionise Indian classical music. With henna-laden hands and pierced ears, Sharma has been on a 5-year mission to give the sitar a new meaning. Known for his iconic ‘Sitar for Mental Health‘ project, it features group breathing exercises, meditation, and intermission talking prompts. He is often seen experimenting with Indian ragas and even Bollywood renditions on the sitar, and like many legends today, it all started with intense grief.
Speaking to The Guardian, Rishabh Sharma recalled that with the live project, his mission was to “introduce every soul on the planet to the sound of the sitar.” Taking the sound to western countries like Dublin, London, and Birmingham, Sharma’s global mission started with online streaming during the pandemic. After he lost his grandfather in 2020, who was like a ‘third parent’ to him, he was completely shattered. In immense grief, he left what they loved doing together, playing sitar.
After months of grief, Sharma finally picked up the sitar. “As I played through the ragas I knew, I felt myself calm down. It was like I was plucking notes from the air to play for him. And when I finished, I was more like myself again.” Taking to social media, he decided to share this with thousands of strangers online. He shared that several people reached out to him, they urged him not to stop as it was helping with their grief too.
Commenting on several trends among the artists, Sharma opined, “I want to be the slowest sitarist on the planet. Everyone is trying their gimmicks and playing as fast as they can, but I want to provide a sense of comfort and peace when we’re so busy and full of anxiety.”
Sitar for Mental Health
He debuted this project in 2021 for 30 people at a yoga centre in New York, while living there as a student. His craft has seen immense growth since then. From playing for Joe Biden at the White House to generating millions of streams, he has come a long way. Today, his singles across genres include trap bass-referencing 2021 track Chankaya, 2023’s electronic percussion-laden Kautilya (The Echo Project) and the lo-fi hip-hop influenced 2024 track Text Me When You Reach.
Origin story of Rishabh Sharma
Born in the family of sitar makers, Sharma shared that he became the final student of Ravi Shankar, back when he was 12. “My father made guruji Ravi Shankar’s sitars, and my grandfather even sold sitars to the Beatles when they came to visit India in the 60s,” he says. Describing how the first time he played the sitar came naturally to him, he said, “It felt so instinctual – I could immediately feel my way around the sargam scale.”
“As long as those responses are positive, then I don’t have to worry about what the traditionalists might say about me mixing styles or using sitar for mental health,” he remarked, reminiscing about what his guru might say if he were still alive.
