Pandit A Pandit ( sa, पण्डित, paṇḍit; hi, पंडित; also spelled Pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt.) is a man with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge whether it is shashtra (Holy Books) or shastra (Wea ...

Shivkumar Sharma (13 January 1938 – 10 May 2022) was an Indian classical musician and

santoor The Indian santoor instrument is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer, and a variation of the Iranian santur. The instrument is generally made of walnut and has 25 bridges. Each bridge has 4 strings, making for a total of 100 strings. It is ...

player who is credited with adapting the santoor for

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ''Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

. As a music composer, he collaborated with Indian

flautist The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

Hariprasad Chaurasia Hariprasad Chaurasia (born 1 July 1938) is an Indian music director and classical flautist, who plays the bansuri, in the Hindustani classical tradition. Early life Chaurasia was born in Allahabad (1938) (officially called Prayagraj) in the ...

under the collaborative name

Shiv–Hari Shiv-Hari refers to the Indian music director duo of Shivkumar Sharma, a Santoor player, and Hariprasad Chaurasia, a flutist. The duo has worked on Indian classical music pieces as well as Indian movie scores. Career As early as 1967, Shiv-Har ...

and composed music for such hit Indian films as '' Faasle'' (1985), '' Chandni'' (1989), and ''

Lamhe ''Lamhe'' (lit. ''Moments'') is a 1991 Indian musical romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra and written by Honey Irani and Rahi Masoom Raza. The film stars Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in lead roles, along with Waheeda Rehman and Anupam ...

'' (1991). Sharma was awarded the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognit ...

in 1986 and the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confe ...

and

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished servi ...

(India's fourth and third highest civilian awards) in 1991 and 2001.

Early life

Sharma was born on 13 January 1938, in

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

, which was part of the Jammu and Kashmir princely state then. His father Uma Dutt Sharma was a vocalist and a

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

player. His father started teaching him vocals and

, when he was just five. His father saw an opportunity to introduce him to the

, a

hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion- stringed instrument which consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set before the musician, who in more tra ...

, which was a folk instrument that traced its origins to ancient

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...

, but was played in Kashmir. He saw the styles that integrated Sufi notes with traditional Kashmiri folk music and had his son play the instrument that was then new to

. Sharma started learning

at the age of thirteen and gave his first public performance in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

in 1955.

Career

Starting his career playing the santoor with his father, Sharma is credited with introducing the

as a popular Indian classical music instrument. He recorded his first

solo album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

in 1960. Sharma took the santoor as an Indian classical musical instrument playing at various music venues. He collaborated with Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain and with

on many of his performances as well as on his albums. In 1967, he teamed up with Chaurasia and guitarist

Brij Bhushan Kabra Brij Bhushan Kabra (1937 – 12 April 2018) was an Indian musician who popularized the guitar as an instrument in Indian classical music. Kabra was born in 1937 to Goverdhanlal Kabra in Jodhpur where he spent his youth. He was interested in spo ...

to produce a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. So ...

, ''

Call of the Valley ''Call of the Valley'' is a Hindustani classical album, recorded and released in 1968 on the label His Master's Voice. Conceived as a suite, the instrumental album follows a day in the life of an Indian shepherd from Kashmir, using ragas associat ...

'' (1967), which turned out to be one of Indian classical music's greatest hits. Sharma composed the background music for one of the scenes in V. Shantaram's film '' Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje'' (1955) where Gopi Krishna performed a

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Classical Indian dance, Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards ...

dance piece. Further, he composed music for many Hindi films in collaboration with Chaurasia, starting with ''

Silsila Silsila ( ar, سِلْسِلَة) is an Arabic word meaning ''chain'', ''link'', ''connection'' often used in various senses of lineage. In particular, it may be translated as "spiritual genealogy" where one Sufi Master transfers his ''khi ...

'' (1981). They came to be known as the

music duo. Some of the movies they composed music for were musical hits, such as '' Faasle'' (1985), '' Chandni'' (1989), ''

'' (1991), and ''

Darr ''Darr: A Violent Love Story'' ( ''Fear'') is a 1993 Indian romantic psychological thriller film directed and produced by Yash Chopra under his banner Yash Raj Films. The film stars Juhi Chawla, Sunny Deol and Shah Rukh Khan with Anupam ...

'' (1993). Sharma also played tabla including in the popular song "Mo Se Chhal Kiye Jaaye" sung by

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...

in the 1965 film ''

Guide A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Exp ...

'', on the insistence of music director S. D. Burman. However, Sharma's focus remained on classic music rather than film songs; he said, "Classical music is not for entertainment. It is to take you on a meditative journey, ''ye toh mehsoos karne ki cheez hai'' (This has to be experienced)." Sharma was awarded the

Sangeet Natak Akadeemi Award Sangeet may refer to: * Sangeet (music), a Sanskrit term for music of the Indian subcontinent ** Rabindra Sangeet, songs written and composed by Rabindranath Tagore ** Sangeet Natak, musical drama in Marathi language ** Shyama Sangeet, a genre o ...

in 1986, the

, India's fourth highest civilian award in 1991, and the

, India's third highest civilian award in 2001.

Personal life

Sharma married Manorama and had one son. His son Rahul, who started learning at the age of 13, is also a santoor player, and they performed together since 1996. In a 1999 interview, Sharma stated that he chose Rahul as his '' shishya'', because he thought he had the "gift of God". Sharma died on 10 May 2022 from a cardiac arrest. He was 84 years old. He had kidney failure for the last few months and went through regular dialysis. He received a state funeral at

Pawan Hans Pawan Hans Limited is a Public sector undertakings in India, central public sector undertaking based at Noida in Delhi NCR, India. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Civil Aviation (India), Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of I ...

Juhu aerodrome, Mumbai, on 11 May 2022.

Discography

Albums

Source:

Contributing artist

''Source

Awards

Sharma is the recipient of national and international awards, including an honorary citizenship of the city of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, USA, in 1985, the

in 1986, the

in 1991, and the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

in 2001. Some of his other awards included: *

Platinum Disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

for ''

'' * Platinum Disc for music of film ''

'' *

Gold Disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

for music of film '' Faasle'' * Platinum Disc for music of film '' Chandni'' * Pandit Chatur Lal Excellence Award – 2015

References

External links

www.santoor.com – Official Site
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Shivkumar 1938 births 2022 deaths Hindustani instrumentalists Indian male classical musicians People from Jammu (city) People from Jammu and Kashmir Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Santoor players Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship