Santoor Recital By Pt. Shivkumar Sharma

Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj is organising the 37th Pandit Motiram Pandit Maniram Sangeet Samaroh, from 27th to 30th November, at the Chowmahalla Palace. This year, 10 artistes, including upcoming as well as senior performers, will perform during the 4-day festival. Renowned Santoor player Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma will mesmerise the audience with his serene notes on the santoor, on the opening day of the festival.

Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, born January 13, 1938, in Jammu, is a Hindustani classical musician. He is a master of the santoor, a folk instrument from the valley of Kashmir. He is credited with single-handedly making the santoor a popular classical instrument, to the extent that the santoor and Pandit Sharma are synonymous.

Pt. Sharma has performed at many concerts with renowned musicians, including with the tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain. He has also partnered with well-known flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia to form a group called Shiv-Hari, for composing Hindi film music. His son Rahul is a santoor player as well. Rahul started accompanying his father in concerts in 1996, at the age of 24. In 1999 they released Sampradaya on Real World Records.

Pt. Sharma is a recipient of many national and international awards, including honorary citizenship of the city of Baltimore, USA (1985), the Sangeet Natak Academy Award (1986), the Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar (1990), an honorary doctorate from the University of Jammu (1991), the Padmasri (1991), the Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Award (1998), and the Padma Vibhushan (2001).

The schedule for the 4-day music festival is as below:

27th November
7:30pm - Hindustani Vocal By Pritam Bhattacharya
8:30pm - Santoor Recital By Pt. Shivkumar Sharma

28th November
7:30pm - Hindustani Vocal By Tripti Mukherjee
8:30pm - Hindustani Vocal By Ulhas Kashalkar

29th November
7:30pm - Kalaripayattu By Kalari Academy Of Performing Arts
8:15pm - Hindustani Vocal By Suman Ghosh
9:00pm - Qawwali By Munnawar Masoom

30th November
7:30pm - Carnatic Flute Recital By Shashank
8:30pm - Tabla Recital By Yogesh Samsi
9:30pm - Hindustani Vocal By Sangeet Martand Pt Jasraj

In memory of his late father Pandit Motiram, and his brother Pandit Maniram, Pandit Jasraj, in association with the Department of Culture, organizes an annual music festival in Hyderabad. It is usually held at the Nizam College grounds, which was where his father and his brother taught music to several students. The festival has been on for over 35 years.

Entry to the samaroh is free. Please contact the Department of Culture at 2324-2482 for further details.