Santoor player and Indian classical musician Pandit Shivkumar Sharma was born on January 13, 1938, in Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, British Raj. He is best remembered for adapting the santoor to Indian classical music. His father - Uma Dutt Sharma - was a vocalist and tabla player and began teaching both to Shivkumar Sharma when he was five. Later, his father began teaching him to play the santoor - a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer – when he was 13 years old. Shivkumar Sharma released his debut album in 1960. The release of Santoor & Guitar, his 1964 collaboration with guitarist Brij Bhushan Kabra, paved the way for his most successful release, Call of the Valley, in 1967. This album, which was a collaboration with Brij Bhushan Kabra and flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia, became one of the most popular and influential albums in Indian classical music. With over 100 releases to his name – including compilations and live releases - Shivkumar Sharma also worked on Hindi film soundtracks including Jhanak Payal Baje (1955), Guide (1965), Silsila (1981), Faasle (1985), Chandni (1989), and others. He was honored with the Natak Akademi Award (1986), the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award (1991), and the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award (2001). Pandit Shivkumar Sharma died on May 10, 2022, at the age of 84.
