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 In conservative circles, the Santoor was not
regarded as an instrument fit for the classical
concert stage. Pandit Shivkumar Sharma was
largely responsible for elevating the instrument
to its present level. His vision extended not
just to the possibilities of the instrument, but
also in reconfiguring and almost re-designing
parts of it as well.
Born in 1938 in
Kashmir, his father, Uma Dutt Sharma, was a
well-regarded musician in the region and it was
on his insistence that Shivkumar Sharma began to
adopt the Santoor as his main instrument. He had
previously learnt to play the Sarod, the Tabla,
the Violin and the Harmonium.
Initially, he had reservations, as the
Santoor in its original form was a rather
limited instrument. His desire to improve on
it's range and capability led to several
improvements: he re-organized the instrument so
it would have more bridges and consequently more
strings, and he refined the tuning and structure
of the strings, to allow for greater precision
in note production.
After years of practice and constant
improvement in his new designs, he gave his
first major recital in Mumbai, in 1955. The
reaction was mixed. Some called him the greatest
new exponent of the Santoor, but the
conservative legions were still unwilling to
accept the supposedly inferior instrument, and
were hard to convince.
According to Sharma himself, it took nearly
15 years to change their minds. Along with his
mastery of the Santoor, he also took time off to
accompany acts as diverse as Punjabi folksinger
Surinder Kaur and Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar.
His percussion playing has no doubt contributed
to his deeper understanding of the Santoor
itself.
Perhaps
his most famous recording to date is his
collaboration with flautist
Hari Prasad Chaurasia and slide
guitarist Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra on the album
The Call
Of The Valley. |
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Sound & Lights |
4 cordless, 14 Mike, Mixer, Dat, CD, Lights as per Setup
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