At just the age of five, Rais gave his debut public concert. His sitar recital was before of the Governor of Bombay Sir Maharaja Singh and his wife at Sunderbhai Hall in downtown Churchgate. Rais, also a vocalist, was only 16 when he represented India at an International Youth Festival in Warsaw. More steps to glory happened, and the artiste gained immense fame abroad and within his country. Rais also performed by the Potomac at Washington, while back in India he also dabbled with popular music by collaborating with iconic film singers such as Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. On a parallel plane, his sitar fused the aesthetics of dhrupad, khayal and thumri genres of classical Hindustani, while also going for a blend of schools such as Gwalior and Etawah.