Desi Cool
The Morning Standard
|July 06, 2025
The Age of Authenticity and Cultural Nationalism is here
The sitar isn't supposed to sound like this. Not here—on a graffiti-splashed rooftop in Delhi, where Gen Alpha sips cold brew and lounges on bean bags under fairy lights. Not now—when the DJ just faded out a trap beat to make way for something older, deeper. And definitely not like this—with the crisp pluck of a string slipping seamlessly into a lo-fi backbeat that feels more late-night playlist than a music sabha. But then, Rishabh Rikhiram Sharma lifts his sitar onto his lap—and suddenly, everything makes sense. The opening notes stretch like breath—calm, deliberate. Then, a beat kicks in. Heads start to nod. The listeners are 19-year-olds in oversized hoodies. Some are here for the vibe, others are curious, and a few know their alaaps from their algorithms.
This story is from the July 06, 2025 edition of The Morning Standard.
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