Mumbai: Veteran santoor player and music composer Pt Shivkumar Sharma died in Mumbai this morning following a heart attack, reports said. He was 84.
A Padma Vibhushan recipient, Shivkumar Sharma was born in Jammu in 1938 and is believed to be the first musician to have played Indian classical music on the santoor, a folk instrument from Jammu and Kashmir.
Pt Sharma was due to perform in Bhopal next week.
Pandit Shivkumar Sharma began learning santoor at the age of thirteen. His first public performance was in Mumbai in 1955. He has been credited with popularising the santoor.
Also, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma composed the background music for one of the scenes in the 1956 film Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje. Four years later, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma recorded his first solo album.
With Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma composed music for several Hindi films, including Silsila, Chandni as well as Darr.
Pandit Shivkumar Sharma received the prestigious Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.
His son Rahul Sharma is also a santoor player.
