Player of our Heartstrings

No instrumentalist has done for their instrument what Pandit Shivkumar Sharma did for the santoor

- Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia

It was in 1958 that Shivji and I met for the first time in Delhi’s Talkatora Stadium. I remember we were both there for an inter-collegiate meet, he as a participant and me as an accompanist. Even though we were friendly then, we truly became friends a few months later when I met him in Bombay. At that point, he’d just finished his education in Jammu and had come to Bombay looking for work. Since he could play both the santoor and the tabla, he had an ear for swara (chords) and also lay (rhythm).

Bombay is like a great ocean. It’s a city you can easily get lost in. The thing about Shivji, however, was that he was so nice and noble, and, also, so well-educated, that it didn’t take long for his music to reach audiences. He was loved by people almost instantly. I honestly have no words to describe his talent. We started hearing the santoor because of his courage. It was always thought of as a folk instrument, but it was through Shivji that people began to love and respect it as a classical instrument.