Ravi Shankar Institute addresses controversy over Rishab Rikhiram Sharma’s discipleship claim

Was Rishab Rikhiram Sharma Pandit Ravi Shankar's disciple? Institute issues statement

• Institute: Rishab Sharma not Ravi Shankar's formal disciple
• Sharma had few lessons, lacked traditional guru-shishya bond
• Statement clarifies misconceptions, not Sharma's talent

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A quiet but significant debate has surfaced within the Indian classical music community after the Ravi Shankar Institute for Music and Performing Arts in New Delhi issued a statement clarifying sitarist Rishab Rikhiram Sharma’s association with the late Pandit Ravi Shankar.

At the heart of the matter is a deeply meaningful word in the classical tradition — “disciple”.

Rishab Rikhiram Sharma, 27, has in the past referred to Pandit Ravi Shankar as his guru and described himself as the maestro’s youngest and last disciple. However, the institute has now clarified that while Rishab Rikhiram Sharma did receive a few lessons, this did not amount to a formal guru-shishya relationship in the traditional sense.

In Indian classical music, becoming a disciple is not simply about attending a handful of sessions. It is a bond that is built over years of rigorous, immersive training, often involving close personal guidance and spiritual mentorship.

Addressing this distinction, Amitavaa Ghosh, Director of the institute, said, “A few lessons and a brief appearance in concert/video cannot be considered equivalent to that level of formal, rigorous and immersive training."

The clarification followed remarks by Anoushka Shankar, daughter of Pandit Ravi Shankar, in an interview with Humans of Bombay.

She explained, “We knew him from childhood because he was the son of our instrument maker Sanjay Rikhiram Sharma. So somehow that has got blown up into some story of him being his last disciple or the youngest disciple, which isn’t true."

She further added that Rishab Rikhiram Sharma primarily trained under Parimal Sadaphal, a senior disciple of her father, and had only a couple of lessons with Pandit Ravi Shankar.

Rishab Rikhiram Sharma, for his part, described a Ganda Bandhan ceremony in January 2012, recalling a moment where Pandit Ravi Shankar asked him to perform a particular raag. However, the institute stated that the string-tying was informal and conducted at the request of Rishab Rikhiram Sharma’s father, without a priest, formal discourse or the presence of other students.

Also Read: Rishab Rikhiram Sharma recognised as Pandit Ravi Shankar’s disciple, confirms official statement

“Guruji did not conduct a formal initial discourse or several hours of teaching that day. The mentioned ceremony was entirely impromptu. The event has been retrospectively amplified beyond what occurred," the institute said.

Importantly, the statement emphasised that it does not seek to diminish Rishab Rikhiram Sharma’s talent, but rather to correct “inaccurate timelines, misperceptions around the nature and amount of instruction and confusion around the word disciple."