FAREWELL, SANTOOR MAESTRO

The sudden death of Pandit Shivkumar Sharma came as a terrible shock to the music world

Composer and santoor maestro Pandit Shivkumar Sharma died yesterday, aged 84. He had reportedly been suffering from kidney-related issues for six months and was on dialysis. His death was due to cardiac arrest, say reports. He is survived by wife Manorama Sharma and sons Rahul and Rohit

Sharma. The veteran, who gave santoor global recognition, was one half of the composer duo Shiv-Hari and composed music with flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia for films such as Silsila (1981), Lamhe (1991) and Chandni (1989).

He was conferred with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1986, Padma Shri in 1991 and Padma Vibhushan in 2001. His last rites will be held today (May 11) at 2.30pm at Pawan Hans Crematorium in Mumbai.