Pandit Shivakumar Sharma, maestro who elevated Santoor to world fame, passes away

MUMBAI: Legendary music composer and santoor player Pandit Shivakumar Sharma (84) passed away on Tuesday. He had been suffering from kidney-related diseases for the past six months. He died due to cardiac arrest.

Sharma had popularized Santoor, a little known instrument, at a global level. His death comes ahead of a scheduled event performance in Bhopal.

Shivakumar Sharma was born on January 13, 1938 in Jammu and Kashmir. He made his debut into films by composing background music for Shantaram’s ‘Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje’. In 1967, a musical album namely ‘Call of the Valley’ composed by Shivakumar Sharma along with Hariprasad Chaurasia and Bribushan Kabra, had gained wide attention.

Sharma was awarded Padma Shri in 1991 and Padma Bhushan in 2001. He is survived by his wife Manorama Sharma and sons Rohit Sharma, head of international release at Fox Films, and Rahul Sharma.