The reincarnation of 'Run it’s the Kid': How Delhi’s cultish indie darlings conjured a second act from the ether

There is a brutal honesty in the way Shantanu Pandit talks about his past. While fans still cling to the slow-burn cult magic of Run it’s the Kid’s (RITK) 2016 self-titled debut, Pandit himself admits he can’t stand the sound of his own voice on it. This lack of sentimentality is precisely what makes their new record, Abracadabra, so potent. It is a braver, more deliberate sound.

The ghost of South Delhi

In 2016, RITK was the heartbeat of a very specific South Delhi-centric indie moment. It was a culture defined by "IRL" spaces — intimate gigs, word-of-mouth fandom, and songs that were written specifically to survive the physics of a live room.

"The first four years of RITK was exclusively us writing and arranging songs to present live," Pandit reflects. "Making records wasn't as big of a thing as it is now. It felt like if you wanted to hear someone's songs, you needed to go to the show."

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That debut was an exercise in raw documentation. Most tracks were recorded as single live takes, capturing the "stops and shifts in dynamics" that the band had perfected on stage. 

The digital reincarnation

If the debut was a physical artifact of a room, Abracadabra is a product of the ether. Now a duo consisting of Pandit and Dhruv Bhola (also a member of Peter Cat Recording Co), the band has moved into a more digital era where the constraints of a live performance no longer dictate the songwriting.

"I don't think we thought about how we would do this one live at all throughout the process of making it," Pandit says. This shift has allowed for a more controlled and deliberate approach. By letting go of the four-piece format, the duo found a new kind of creative courage. When asked if age has changed his songwriting, Pandit’s answer is immediate: "Braver."

This bravery manifests in a total lack of preciousness toward their legacy. When asked which album he prefers, Pandit doesn't hesitate to pick the new material, citing his inability to listen to his younger self. It’s a common sentiment among artists who have truly evolved — the old skin simply doesn't fit anymore.

Despite the sonic overhaul, the human core of RITK remains remarkably unchanged. The story began in 2011 at Ramjas College: two freshers with matching guitars, goatees, and ponytails, jamming every day at D-School. Fifteen years later, that intuitive shorthand is what allows them to protect the vulnerability of their ideas.

"The two of us have worked together for so long now... we don't really need to explain ourselves much," Pandit says. 

Outsiders by choice

As they re-enter a Delhi indie scene that has grown and fractured in their absence, RITK isn't looking to claim the title of "scene elders." If anything, they feel like outsiders revisiting a world that has transformed as much as they have.

The title Abracadabra suggests an illusion or a sudden appearance, but for Pandit and Gupta, it’s more about the transformation of the self. "The songs. Us. Everything has transformed. It's a whole new world," Pandit muses.

They aren't concerned with how listeners trace the emotional arc between 2016 and now. They aren't trying to redefine the "Delhi sound." They are simply two friends who disappeared, grew up, and reappeared with the only thing that matters: good songs that stick.