Pt. Shivkumar Sharma the modest Kashmiri folk instrument of santoor has been elevated to concert level status and beheld audiences worldwide spellbound.

His eloquent santoor has introduced the freshness and exuberance of the sparkling springs of his scenic homeland to the realm of classical music.

Pt. Shivkumar Sharma is a name permanently associated with the “SANTOOR” today. This instrument of traditional Kashmiri origin, owes a great deal to the individual who perfected and introduced it to the illustrious world of Hindustani Classical music. It is important to mention here that the efforts in initiating the santoor into the realm of the Hindustani Classical music tradition also goes to the maestro’s father, Pt. Umadutt Sharma – his first guru.

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma was born on the 13th of January 1938 in Kashmir. His family hails from the Dogra clan of Jammu. Pandit Sharma’s training in the santoor has been under the Benaras gharana. However besides the santoor, he also learnt Hindustani classical vocal and the tabla. His introduction to the santoor was made at the age of fourteen, when he started his formal training under the tutelage of his father.

Shivkumar Sharma gave his first public performance in Bombay 1955 and recorded his first solo album in 1960. It was in 1967 that he teamed up with flute maestro Hariparasad Chaurasia and slide guitarist Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra to produce a thematic album called “Call of the Valley”, an endeavour that was highly appreciated, and even today is regarded as one of the great works in Hindustani Classical Music.

The greatest contribution made by the maestro to his art has been improvisations on his instrument to such an extent that what otherwise might have been known as a folk instrument has now emerged with it’s own. The santoor was formerly not viewed as a pure classical instrument on account of what were termed certain ‘inherent limitations’. However the sustained effort of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma has made it possible for the santoor to render ragas as per the “khayal” form of rendition.

For instance, he recreated the traditional santoor by introducing twenty-nine ridges as opposed to the traditional twenty-five; to obtain three full octaves and twelve notes as opposed to the seven adhered to in Kashmiri folk music. Moreover, he also devised newer techniques such as, exerting sustained thumb pressure on each string to prolong notes and produce the “meend” where one note flows into the other. Thanks to his effort, the santoor has now evolved a character encompassing “Gayaki” (vocal style), “Gatkari” (instrumental technique), and “Layakari” (rhythmic improvisation).

It is with such a deeply absorbing knowledge of his art, that this immensely talented artist has progressively evolved his instrument and built its fame the world over. Little wonder then that Pandit Sharma is the recipient of several prestigious Indian awards such as the Padmashri, which he received in 1986.

It is due to Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, and him alone that the santoor is today a highly appreciated Indian instrument the world over.