• Santoor virtuoso Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, who took the stringed instrument to the global stage, passed away in Mumbai. He was 84.

• President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among those who condoled Sharma’s death. 

• Santoor is a stringed instrument made of wood, steel and bamboo. It is a traditional instrument from Jammu & Kashmir. It is a classical music instrument.

• Santoor is similar to British and American “Hammer Dulcimer”, Chinese “Yang Chin” and the east European “Cimbalom”. Played with sticks, Santoor is said to have originated from Vedic “Vana Veena” also known as Shata Tantri Veena (Sanskrit version of one hundred strings).

• Shivkumar Sharma was born in Jammu in 1938. 

• He was one of India’s most well known classical musicians.

• As one half of musician duo Shiv-Hari, he composed music with flute legend Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia for films such as ‘Silsila’, ‘Lamhe’, ‘Chandni’ and ‘Darr’.

• Sharma received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1986, followed by the Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.

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