Shivkumar Sharma has made it to reverential fame through his soulful mastery over the complex musical instrument Santoor. Santoor is a traditional instrument of Jammu and Kashmir, where Shivkumar Sharma is also from. The Santoor is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer, generally made of walnut. It has 25 bridges, each bridge has 4 strings, making for a total of 100 strings. The strings are played with tongs rather than being plucked. Today, Shivkumar and Santoor are synonymous with each other. Santoor is known by him, and he is known by Santoor. Therefore, let’s dive into his life and how it all began!
Early Life and Introduction to Music and Instruments
Shivkumar Sharma was born on 13th January, 1938, in Jammu. His father, Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma, who was also his teacher, played an important role in shaping the musician and composer that he is today. As early as the age of 5, his father introduced him to music. By the age of 12, Shivkumar was an applaudable vocalist and a tabla player. He performed his vocals and tabla on one of Jammu’s local radio broadcasts. His father gave him the free will to experiment with instruments of his choice. Shivkumar spent hours on diverse instruments like sitar, violin, and harmonium.
Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma wanted to give international recognition to Santoor. He researched extensively about this ancient instrument of Jammu. The Santoor was known as Shata-Tantri Veena in those days and the music and singing accompanying santoor are also unique. The singing style is known as Sufiana Mausiqi. Pandit Uma believed in his son and handed over the responsibility of taking Santoor to the highest echelons, to him. Shivkumar indeed sprinkled the magic of Santoor not only to the Hindi cinemas but also internationally.
How Shivkumar Sharma is Indeed a Legend
Through his father’s encouragement, Shivkumar turned all his attention to Santoor. He modified this folk instrument to make it suitable for Indian classical music. At the age of 17, he tried to soften its notes and tunes. Through the years, he tried to work on its tuning so that it imitates a human-like voice. He increased its range to a full three octaves and also introduced a new way of playing it. Consequently, the instrument got incorporated into Hindi cinemas and songs.
Shivkumar has collaborated and worked with many gifted musicians. Zakir Hussain and Hariprasad Chaurasiya are just some of them. He composed Indian classical music for films like “Darr”, “Silsila” and “Lamhe”. He has also been awarded multiple 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. On his 84th birthday, some of his albums that you can visit are – Call of the Valley, Sampradaya, Elements: Water, Music of the Mountains and Megh Malhar.
