Context

Veteran santoor player and music composer Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma passes away at the age of 84, following a heart attack.

About

Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma:

• Shiv Kumar Sharma was born in Jammu in 1938.
• He is believed to be the first musician to have played Indian classical music on the santoor.
• Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma was awarded:
  • Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1986
  • Padma Shri in 1991
  • Padma Vibhushan in 2001
    

Important facts about Santoor

• Type: TAT VADYA
• Santoor is a stringed instrument made of wood, steel, and bamboo.
• This is a traditional instrument, found in Jammu and Kashmir.
• Majorly used in the traditional music of Kashmir called Sufiana Qalam.
• It has now acquired an important place as a classical music instrument.
• A trapezoid wooden box, 120 steel strings, stretched on 30 wooden bridges in sets of four on each bridge.
• Bridges are arranged in a set of fifteen on each side.
• Struck by bamboo mallets.
• It is placed on a triangular wooden stand while playing.