| Shivkumar Sharma | |
|---|---|
Sharma performing in Pune, Maharashtra 17 July 2009 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born | January 13, 1938 Jammu Jammu & Kashmir |
| Origin | Dogra from Jammu, India |
| Genres | Hindustani classical music |
| Instruments | santoor |
| Years active | 1955–present |
| Associated acts | Rahul Sharma |
| Website | www.santoor.com |
Shivkumar Sharma (born January 13, 1938, Jammu, India[1]) is an Indian santoor player.[2][3] The santoor is a folk instrument[1][4] from Kashmir[5] and Jammu[6]. Sharma is often referred to by the title Pandit.[3]
Contents |
Born in Jammu to the singer[7][8] Uma Dutt Sharma.[9] In a 1999 interview to rediff.com, Sharma said that his father started teaching him vocals and tabla when he was just five.[8] He goes on to say that Uma Dutt Sharma did "extensive research" on santoor and decided that Shivkumar should be the first musician to play Indian classical music on santoor. So he started learning santoor at the age of 13.[8] and made Uma Dutt Sharma's dream come true.[1] He gave his first public performance in Bombay in 1955. His mother tongue is Dogri.
Shivkumar Sharma is the master instrumentalist of the santoor, after some years as a vocalist. He is credited with making the santoor a popular classical instrument.[4][10] In a 1999 interview to rediff.com, Sharma said that it was his father who decided that he should play the santoor and that he never thought he would be choosing it when he started learning music.[8] Sharma recorded his first solo album in 1960.[1] Sharma composed the music of Shantaram's Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje[11] (1956).
In 1967, he teamed up with flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia and Brij Bhushan Kabra to produce a concept album, Call of the Valley (1967) which turned out to be one of the greatest hits in Indian classical music.[1][10] He has composed music for many Hindi films in collaboration with Hariprasad Chaurasia[12] starting with Silsila[11] (1980). They came to be known as the 'Shiv-Hari' music duo.[11] Some of the movies they composed music for which were big musical hits are Faasle (1985), Chandni (1989), Lamhe (1991) and Darr (1993).
Sharma married Manorama[9][13] and has three sons.[8] His son, Rahul,[14][15] is also a santoor player[16][17] and they have performed together since 1996.[8] In a 1999 interview to rediff.com, Sharma stated that he chose Rahul as his shishya because he thought he had the "gift of God".[8]
Sharma is the recipient of national and international awards, including an honorary citizenship of the city of Baltimore, USA, in 1985,[18] the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1986,[19] the Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.[20]