He was on stage a few minutes before the scheduled start of 7:30pm, opening the concert with an immersive silence, followed by a meditative breathing exercise, far removed from the loud cheers and overstimulated energy typical of concerts. With fans mostly dressed in white, as requested by sitarist Rishab Rikhiram Sharma, the optics, visuals, production and even the entry experience felt unlike anything the city had seen before. In an open ground in the city, fans sat through the entire performance. There was no dancing, just Rishab playing the sitar and calming the audience with his music. From playing Shiv Kailash to surprising the audience with the viral Bahraini beat – FA9LA from Dhurandhar – Rishab performed for an audience that went back with their hearts full as he concluded his ‘Sitar for Mental Health’ tour in his city.FILMI NOTES IN A MEDITATIVE SET● Zara Zara● Look at you● Yesterday Ho Naa Ho● FA9LA
“Shoutout to my dad for making this wonderful sitar, it is called SITARA,” said Rishab
RISHAB TAKES DELHI ON A SONIC JOURNEY ACROSS RAGAS AND NOSTALGIAWith an armor as part of his attire, mehendi on his arms and not just the classical instrument sitar but also an electric one, Rishab’s performance unfolded an expansive exploration of ragas including Bihaag, Kedar, Tilak Kamod. As soon as the song changed, the visual backdrop changed from ghats of Banaras to the mountains of India. One depiction also featured the Hogwarts dining hall. The transitions matched the ragas, speeding up or slowing down in sync with Rishab’s sitar.“This is a journey from the deserts of India to the mountains of India,” he said before he played Padharo Mhare Des on sitar followed by Shiv Kailash. Asking the crowd if they had come with family or solo, Rishab described the evening as “a fun family bonding exercise as well” for those who had come together.Before he performed Raag Tilak Kamod, he spoke about it in a manner that indicated that he is unfazed by the controversy around him being a disciple of Ravi Shankar. “This is the first raag I ever learned, first from my dad, and then my guruji, Ravi Shankar ji, and this song captures my first lesson that I had, and this sort of summarizes how beautiful it was,” he said, reiterating the description of the maestro as his guru.After halftime, Rishab asked the audience if he could go back and perform for the audience in the back. He then walked to the second stage amid cheering fans. “This song that I am now going to sing is a Himachali folk song called Belua, my mother taught me this song,” he told them, acknowledging his mother’s presence.“This is my city, kya sunna chahenge Delhi ki audience,” the sitarist asked the audience from that stage before he played throwbacks like Zara Zara, Tumhi Dekho Naa, Kal Ho Naa Ho.As he switched to a flashy, lit electric sitar, he spoke about it: “Shoutout to my dad for making this wonderful sitar, it is called SITARA, it has 640 LEDs on it.” The sitar was a visual highlight of his subsequent acts.Returning to the main stage, he played FA9LA by Flipperachi, the song from Dhurandhar that went viral thanks to Akshaye Khanna’s moves.
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta
‘I have got my armor today’As the performance reached its final bit, Rishab played The Burning Ghat, his tribute to the Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi, and recounted how affected he was when he visited the ghat. Next up, he dedicated a song to mothers and shared, “I have got my armor today and I feel our mothers are that to us. I think mothers are the most courageous people.” He concluded the performance and his tour with a powerful Tandavam. Among the prominent faces seen at the event were Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, designer Nikhil Mehra, and MPs Priyanka Chaturvedi and Rajeev Shukla.
Riddhima Kapoor Sahni
Rishab consciously avoided fireworks for the grand finale, “an intentional decision taken to ensure a mindful and responsible celebration,” his team stated.
