It was Aditya Rikhari ’s second performance in the city, a show originally slated for December but postponed after a health setback. Yet the wait only seemed to deepen the connection. “Hyderabad has always been a lovely place to perform,” he said. When the December date was pushed, his Instagram quietly lit up with messages from fans asking when he would return. “I didn’t even realise so many people were listening to me,” he admitted, visibly moved, adding that the city’s warmth and enthusiasm are exactly what keep drawing him back. In a candid chat with Hyderabad Times, the singer spoke about his bond with Hyderabad, his faith-led creative process, and the value of honesty in music.



‘Performance is about vibe; writing is about emotion’



Speaking about the difference between writing and perfor-ming, he said a song evolves when it meets a live audience. “Performance depends on the vibe, the sound and the kind of audience, but songwriting depends purely on feeling,” he explained. “My process is simple — I wait for the lyrics and melody to come to me. They arrive when I’m relaxed,” he said. Songs like Paaro and Raatein Guzari, he added, take on a new life on stage. “Both have a rollercoaster in their composition. With violins, flutes and layered choruses, they gain a fresh intensity that I love performing.”




‘I have a very small vocabulary, but I try to make a big impact’



Looking back at his early songwriting days, when his first song Tu Kahan first brought him into the spotlight in 2020, Aditya said he never imagined his music would reach this scale. “Not at all. I didn’t even think it would get to one per cent of where it is today,” he admitted. “I had no playbook. I just started writing what I felt,” he said. “I prefer lesser words but greater impact. I have a very small vocabulary, so I keep shuffling the same words until they land emotionally,” he added.‘I didn’t even want Sahiba to be released’







When asked about the response to his biggest hit Sahiba, which was released in 2023 but found a massive wave of popularity online in 2025 — Aditya made a surprising confession. “I didn’t even want this song to be released,” he admitted. “I didn’t think it was that special.” The song, which has since travelled widely as a quiet anthem of unspoken emotion, owes its success to simplicity, he believes. “Minimalism was the speciality. More than anything,



Sahiba taught a bigger lesson that every song has its own



destiny. It will go where it’s supposed to,” he concluded.




— Sanjana Pulugurtha