Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

Shivkumar Sharma recorded his first solo album in 1960.He composed the music of Shantaram's 'Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje'. (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Shivkumar Sharma has collaborated with many musicians like Zakir Hussain and Hariprasad Chaurasiya. He also composed music for Hindi films like 'Darr', 'Silsila', 'Lamhe' etc. Some of his famous albums are 'Call of the Valley', 'Sampradaya', 'Elements: Water, Music of the Mountains', 'Megh Malhar' etc.  (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Shivkumar Sharma has truly been successful in giving the Santoor the position of a popular classical instrument. Shivkumar Sharma modified the folk instrument in order to make it more suitable for classical music. He increased its range to full three octaves and also created a technique for smoother gliding between music notes in order to imitate human voice quality.  (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Shivkumar Sharma learnt the tabla and also vocal singing before dedicating himself to learn the Santoor extensively. The Santoor was known as the Shata-Tantri Veena in earlier days.  (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Shivkumar Sharma was born on 13th January, 1938 in Jammu. He was introduced to the Santoor by his father and teacher, Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma. He was renowned player of the instrument and also a vocalist. He was a disciple of Pandit Bade Ramdasji of Banaras.  (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Shivkumar Sharma is the recipient of many prestigious awards like Padmashree, Padma Vibhushan, Sangeet Natak Academy Award, Honorary Doctorate from the University of Jammu, Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Award, Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar, etc. He also has an honorary citizenship of the city of Baltimore, USA. This flawless musician truly deserves these honors and more  (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Reaching at this level in life was not easy for him and it is because of the determination of Shivkumar Sharma that the Santoor is a popular classical instrument. Know his life history in this short biography of Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma.  (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

The maestro, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma who patented the Santoor also known as 'Shata Tantri Veena' (hundred-stringed lute) is said to have given a whole new definition to the instrument. He has improvised and created totally new playing techniques to express the full range and beauty of classical Gandharva Music on the Santoor.  (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma has been honoured by the Sahitya Natak Akademi Award and the Padma Shree. He has the honorary citizenship of the city of Baltimore, has received the Indian Classical music’s first platinum disc for The Call of the Valley and has given special performances before the House of Lords in Britain and in front of the Queen of Holland.  (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

In his early years, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma learnt both the tabla and the santoor. In addition he was also a vocalist. But it was after 1955 that he decided to reflect his true personality through an instrument that is meant to be played percussively – the santoor.  (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Pandit Shivkumar is so far the only one to match his father's tonality, finish and rhythmic wizardry. (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Padma Vibhushan award-winning Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, a legend in himself, has successfully placed his father's opus to unattainable heights and, in turn, passed on his prodigious knowledge of music to his younger generation- Rahul Sharma.  (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Shivkumar's son Rahul Sharma, who has established himself as one of the greatest exponents in fusion music, the 'Jugalbandi' proved to be a perfect blend of classical music and the fusion . (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma is regarded as a legend in the field of classical music, sounds characterising today's young musicians. (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Shivkumar Sharma says, "I'll play my son Rahul’s composition along with him", said Sharma before commencing the marvellous musical expedition, making it unique in itself. Sharing the stage after eight long years the father-son-duo soon stole the show with their proficiency in playing ‘the hundred strings instrument’. (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Elevating the audience of music enthusiasts to a blissful, sublime world of eternal music was a musical 'Jugalbandi' between renowned santoor exponent and music maestro Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma and his son Rahul Sharma, years after the first ravishing performance of father-son duo in 'Santoor Virasat'. (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Shivkumar Sharma was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2001. (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Shivkumar Sharma is the recipient of many national and international awards including honorary citizenship of the city of Baltimore. (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma says that he chose Rahul as his shishya because he thought he had the 'Gift of God'. (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Shivkumar Sharma married Manorama and has two sons. His son, Rahul, is also a santoor player and since 1996, they performed together.  (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Shivkumar Sharma teamed up with flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Pandit Brijbhushan Kabra to produce a thematic album, The Call of the Valley which was turned out to be one of the greatest hits in Indian classical music. (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Shivkumar Sharma is the master instrumentalist of the santoor, after some years as a vocalist. He is credited with single-handedly making the santoor a popular classical instrument. (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Shivkumar Sharma gave his first public performance in Bombay in 1955. So he started learning santoor at the age of 13 and made his father's dream come true. (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Shivkumar Sharma was born to the vocalist, Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma. Sharma said that his father started teaching him vocals and tabla when he was just the age of five. (BCCL/Saatish Jaiswal)

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma is an Indian classical musician of Hindustani classical music tradition.He is a master of the santoor.

Shivkumar Sharma is the master instrumentalist of the santoor and a vocalist. (Photo/Ranjit Deshmukh)  (BCCL)

Pandit Shivkumar also created a new technique of playing with which he could sustain notes and maintain sound continuity. (Photo/Ranjit Deshmukh)  (BCCL)

Shivkumar Sharma is the recipient of many national and international awards including Padma Vibhushan. (Photo/Ranjit Deshmukh)  (BCCL)

Shivkumar's son Rahul is also a santoor player.He started accompanying his father in concerts in 1996, at the age of 24. In 1999, they released Sampradaya on Real World Records. (Photo/Ranjit Deshmukh)  (BCCL)