By Madhurima Ghosh –
The Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma departed yesterday at the age of 84, due to cardiac arrest. Reportedly he was on dialysis since the last 6 months because of renal disease. As per his secretary Dinesh, he passed away between 8am and 8.30am at his Pali Hill Residence. His family included his wife Manorama Sharma and sons Rahul and Rohit Sharma who are santoor players as well
The eminent musician was born in Jammu in 1938. He gave the santoor global recognition and is believed to be the first musician to have played Indian classical music on santoor, a folk instrument from Jammu and Kashmir.
Classical and Indian film music reached new heights because of the veteran musician. As one half of the musician duo Shiv-Hari, he composed music with flute legend Pandit HariprasadChaurasia for films such as Silsila (1981), Lamhe (1991) and Chandni (1989). He was honoured with the Sangeet NatakAkademi Award in 1986, Padma Shri in 1991, and Padma Vibhushan in 2001.
A family source mentioned that he had a performance due next week in Bhopal. Even after suffering from the disease he was very active.
Soon after his departure, condolences and tributes poured in. Narendra Modi expressed his condolences in his tweet saying that the cultural world would become poor with demise of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and younger generation would continue to be enthralled by his music.
The PM also stated that he fondly remembers his interactions with Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma.
West Bengal CM , Mamata Banerjee posted “Sad to know about the demise of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, eminent Santoor player and internationally celebrated Indian music composer. His departure impoverishes our cultural world. My deepest condolences,”
Sarod player Amjad Ali Khan wrote in his tweet that death of the santoor player marks end of an era. He called Sharma the pioneer of Santoor whose contributions are unparalleled. He also expressed that passing away of Shiv Kumar Sharma is his personal loss and he would miss Sharma.
Ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas and veteran actor Shabana Azmialso condoled Sharma’s death.