‘Why should rappers have all the fun?’ How Rishab Sharma made the sitar sexy again

The sitar with its 20 strings has been around for five centuries. Rishab Rikhiram Sharma’s sitar has 640 LED bulbs and looks, in his words, “like a lightsaber”. He opens concerts by guiding audiences through a pranayam while digital waves and clouds swirl above him, his diamond-studded teeth catching the light because, as he sees it, “why should only rappers have all the fun?”
The 27-year-old has just wrapped up an 11-city India tour with sold-out arenas where three generations sit and sway. His finale at Delhi’s DDA Ground in Dwarka last month had the sweep of an international gig, Coldplay if you will, with pyrotechnics, vast backdrops and radio-controlled LED wristbands across the audience lighting up in sync.