Mixing melody with a dialogue on mental health

Born into a family of luthiers, Rishab Rikhiram Sharma has always been around music. However, his identity as a sitarist has been shaped by much more than just his lineage. With soulful sitar melodies, henna-stained hands, and conversations on healing and mental health, the young musician is redefining Indian classical music. This confluence of energy has led to his initiative, Sitar for Mental Health. Mental Health Awareness Month, celebrated annually in May, is still a month away, but Sharma’s performance tomorrow at the Dome SVP Stadium in Worli, using the sitar as a medium, couldn’t have come at a better time.

So, what drew him to the sitar? “I didn’t choose sitar. In a way, sitar chose me,” shares Sharma, who has been trained by celebrated Indian sitarist and composer Pandit Ravi Shankar. Having found peace through sitar during a challenging phase in life, Sharma decided to build a community where music and mental health became one. 

Sitar and mental health

The sitarist’s performance in the city is an extension of this very same thought. He explains, “The concept of Sitar for Mental Health came into being after I lost my grandfather, who was my best friend. This is how I was coping with it. I would play the sitar online and also talk about grief. A lot of people could relate to me because many were losing their loved ones during the pandemic. I would also invite mental health professionals on social media platforms like Clubhouse and have important conversations.” The result over time has culminated into this 10-city India tour, where he says apart from music, listeners should be ready for meditation, conversation and answering deep thoughtful questions.

Training under Shankar

While Sharma channels his ‘soul’ through his ‘soulful’ melodies, he credits the late sitar maestro Shankar, who was his teacher, for imparting the knowledge of music and believing in his potential. Sharma didn’t only receive training from the legendary musician but was also one of his last disciples. 

Recalling his training days with the sitar virtuoso, he shares, “It was an intense time. I used to play sitar for six hours every day. My parents would get me out of school at half time and then I would go to his centre to practise. Sometimes, I also had my lunch or dinner with him. He saw potential in me, and wanted me to take the legacy forward. He was a strict teacher.  But when he kept the sitar down, he was the nicest person. He was funny,” he reminisces about Shankar, whose 105th birth anniversary was coincidentally earlier this week. “I really miss him. There’s no one like him.”