I don’t want to break away, I just want space to breathe, says flautist Ritik Chaurasia

Ritik Chaurasia, grandson of famed flutist Pt Hariprasad, navigates his musical legacy with grace, honoring tradition while finding his unique voice.

MUMBAI: Before he ever played a note, Ritik Chaurasia had already inherited a sound, not just a surname. It was a legacy carried in every bamboo joint and note, hung gently on a breath. In Ritik’s world, silence carries memory. And melody, an expectation.

His lullabies weren’t nursery rhymes, they were ragas, says flautist Rakesh Chaurasia of his son Ritik (right) being born into Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia’s legacy. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The grandson of Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia—who lifted the humble bansuri from pastoral anonymity to the grandest concert stages of the world—and the son of the virtuoso Rakesh Chaurasia, 25-year-old Ritik lives at the confluence of memory