Who was Pandit Shivkumar Sharma? Santoor Maestro started learning music at the age of 5

Legendary musician and santoor maestro, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma passed away on Tuesday, May 10, in Mumbai. The 84-year-old musician had taken India on the world map, and was rightly known as the ‘Sultan of Santoor’. While he was largely known for being the santoor maestro, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma had also composed numerous classic songs for the Hindi film industry. Born on January 13, 1938, in Jammu, he went on to become of the biggest names in the Indian music world that gained international recognition which remains unmatched even today.

Started learning music at the age of 5: Pandit Shivkumar Sharma was barely five years old when he started taking training for music and table. In an interview from the year 1999, he revealed that his father had done extensive research on the santoor and had decided that his son should become the first Indian to play Indian classical music on the santoor. And then, at the age of 13, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma started playing santoor, to fulfil his father’s dream.

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Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and the Hindi film industry: Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma has worked closely with many Indian musicians such as Zakir Hussain and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. He also composed songs for several Hindi films such as Dar, Silsila and Lamhe, among others. Some of his famous albums are Call of the Valley, Sampradaya, Elements: Jal, Sangeet Ki Parbat, Megh Malhar, et al.

Received honours and awards for contribution in the field of music: Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma was honoured with several prestigious awards such as Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Honorary doctorate from Jammu University, Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Award, Maharashtra Gaurav Award and many more.

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Imparted free music lessons to his students: In 2002, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma published his autobiography 'Journey with a Hundred Strings: My Life in Music'. In that, he revealed that he used to teach music free of cost to his students since he always followed the Indian tradition of ‘Gurus’. Students from many parts of the world such as Japan, Germany, Australia and the United States of America used to come to learn music from him.

Received international honours as well: Pandit Shivkumar Sharma was honoured with several national awards. At the same time, his talent and excellence in music were also honoured with international awards. In 1985, he was given honorary citizenship by the city of Baltimore, USA.