Composer and santoor maestro Pandit Shivkumar Sharma dies at 84

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, one half of the composer duo Shiv-Hari, died of a cardiac arrest this morning in Mumbai.

According to The Indian Express newspaper, the 84-year-old santoor maestro had been suffering from kidney-related issues for the past six months and was on dialysis.

A source from the family told the news agency Press Trust of India, “He was to perform in Bhopal next week. He was on regular dialysis but was still active.”

Born on 13 January 1938 in Jammu, Sharma began playing the tabla at five and picked up the santoor at 13 at his father's behest. He would go on to elevate the instrument and give it a higher stature in the world of classical Indian music.

Sharma’s relationship with cinema happened under film music composer Vasant Desai’s tutelage as he put together the background score of V Shantaram’s Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje (1955). He also played the tabla for SD Burman for the song 'Saiyaan Beimaan' in Guide (1966).

Along with flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, he crafted memorable scores for Yash Chopra films such as Silsila (1981), Chandni (1989), Lamhe (1991) and Darr (1993).

Sharma won the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1986 and was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.

His son Rahul is also a santoor player and composer.

Condolences poured in for the doyen from around the country.