Ravi Shankar Centre Rejects Rishab Sharma’s Discipleship Claim, Cites Lack of Formal Guru-Shishya Bond

The Ravi Shankar Centre has firmly dismissed sitarist Rishab Rikhiram Sharma’s assertion that he was the youngest and last disciple of legendary musician Pandit Ravi Shankar. In an official clarification, the Centre stated that Sharma’s public claims are misleading and do not align with the traditional and well-established practices of the guru–shishya parampara followed in Indian classical music.

According to the Centre, while Ravi Shankar did meet the young sitarist on a few occasions and even offered him limited guidance in early 2012, this interaction cannot be described as a formal discipleship. The institution explained that there was no recognised ganda-bandhan ceremony, which is the traditional initiation ritual marking a student’s acceptance as a disciple. The brief string-tying event that reportedly took place was informal and symbolic, carried out in a personal setting without the presence of priests, rituals, or public declaration.

The Centre further noted that Ravi Shankar, who was in declining health during that period, could only give a handful of short lessons between January and March 2012. At one of his concerts in February that year, the maestro introduced Sharma to the audience as a promising student but did not describe him as a disciple. Soon after, Ravi Shankar left India for medical treatment and was unable to continue teaching before his death in December 2012.

It was also clarified that Sharma’s structured training mainly came from senior disciples of Ravi Shankar rather than from the maestro himself. The statement follows earlier remarks by Ravi Shankar’s daughter, Anoushka Shankar, who also denied that Sharma had been formally accepted as her father’s disciple. Emphasising the gravity of the word “disciple” in Indian classical tradition, the Centre stressed that the title reflects years of rigorous, sustained training and a deeply rooted teacher-student relationship, not a brief association.