Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma - Page 2

great info...thnks   👏

Once in a long while is born a man whose efforts change the face of reality, whose conviction forces destiny to rewrite itself, whose genius has an impact across centuries. To state that Pandit Shivkumar Sharma has created history in the world of music, is an understatement, an inadequate attempt to capture the maestro's achievements and contributions. After all how many musicians can boast of single handedly bringing forth an obscure, almost unknown instrument to the level of being "indispensable" on the concert platform! Musicians and their instruments do become synonyms, but how often does an instrument acquire an identity because of a musician!
Santoor, the folk instrument from the valley of Kashmir, owes its classical status to Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. In the early decades of the twentieth century, Santoor or Shata-Tantri Veena as it was called in the ancient times, was used as an accompaniment to a specific type of singing called Sufiana Mausiqi. When Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma, a renowned vocalist from Jammu, and a disciple of Pt. Bade Ramdasji of Benaras spotted it, he was convinced of the potentialities of the instrument. After extensive research on the instrument he bestowed the responsibility of establishing it on the concert platform on his only son Shivkumar. The rest, as they say, is history.

However, the road to success was far from smooth. After several radio broadcasts and performances he appeared for his national level concert in Mumbai in 1955. This was a turning point in his life where he received applause as well as was severely criticized by the orthodox sections of musicians and listeners. Santoor according to them was not a complete instrument on which one could play classical music. Instead of getting disheartened or discouraged, in his characteristic manner he took these criticisms as a challenge. After in-depth research, he made some important modifications on this hundred stringed instrument, like a new chromatic arrangement of notes and increased the range to cover full three octaves. Besides, he also created a new technique of playing with which he could sustain notes and maintain sound continuity. Today Santoor is at par with any classical instrument, well established not just all over India, but across the globe.

With his creative genius, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma has created a new genre of instrumental music. Through his performance career of over a half century, he has created millions of new listeners and ardent fans of Indian classical music. His performances are such a brilliant combination of rich knowledge, perfect skill and abundant spontaneous creativity, that all the sections of listeners feel enriched. Little surprise that his concerts are awaited by connoisseurs, music students, musicians and lay listeners alike.

He believes in the immortality of this great heritage of Indian classical music and wishes to leave no stone unturned to make it so. With this aim in mind, he has been imparting his knowledge to the next generation of musicians. So deep is his conviction that despite no institutional or government support, he has been teaching in the Guru Shishya tradition, without charging a fee from his students, who come to him from all the corners of India as well as different parts of the world like Japan, Germany, Australia and America.

While he never compromises on the purity of music, Pt. Sharma's open minded approach has resulted in some of the most popular, innovative experimental albums like Call of the Valley, Feelings, Mountains, etc. In fact he is among those rare musicians who have been able to create successfully in the world of film music as well. Now for over forty years Santoor is an indispensable part of Indian film music. His compositions for blockbusters like Silsila, Lamhe, Chandni, Darr, etc. are all time favourites across the country.

Music, he believes, is food for the soul. Naturally, his music is meditative and soothing at the same time. His immense faith in the ancient wisdom of Vedanta has resulted in creation of music for Shlokas from the Upanishads and a new raag called Antardhwani.

Various recording companies from India and overseas have tried to capture Pt. Sharma's genius for the last forty years. Today he has over 100 recordings to his credit in LPs, CDs, audio cassettes and even DVDs. In fact he is the only classical musician who has agreed to do a music video in order to appeal to the young generation.

Naturally, a musician with such a vast spectrum of achievements has a long list of National and International awards conferred upon him like the Honorary Citizen for the City of Baltimore, USA (1985), Sangeet Natak Academy Award (1986), Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar (1990), Honorary Doctorate from the University of Jammu (1991) Padmashree (1991), Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Award (1998), and Padma Vibhushan (2001), to name a few.

Born in 1938, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, a musician par excellence, a great composer, an understanding, kind guru, a sensitive and aware citizen, this living legend is truly a personification of the Indian ethos and values. The world of music will forever be indebted to him for his incredible contribution.

Maestro Shiv Kumar Sharma

"According to me, Music is not for
entertainment. It was my life-long dream to play
such kind of music which will make
the listeners forget to clap;
which will make them silent.
My dream came true, once.
I played one raga,
while the listeners
immersed deep into meditation
and I experienced a state of thoughtlessness.
This silence was so nourishing,
so fulfilling,
there was no need to play anything else".

Originally posted by: punjini

Maestro Shiv Kumar Sharma

"According to me, Music is not for
entertainment. It was my life-long dream to play
such kind of music which will make
the listeners forget to clap;
which will make them silent.
My dream came true, once.
I played one raga,
while the listeners
immersed deep into meditation
and I experienced a state of thoughtlessness.
This silence was so nourishing,
so fulfilling,
there was no need to play anything else".

Wah Sahana!! Made my day! 😊

Thanks Sawraj ji! 👏👏👏

Listening to 'Sohni' now by the legendary Shiv Kumar Sharma Now! 😳
It's little funny to play a night raga in the morning though! 😆😆

MR: And it has something pertaining to the times that ragas are performed which I have never heard before. So I wanted to ask you if this is something you've heard of and agree with or perhaps have a different approach to. The passage says that "musicians declare that the times and seasons allotted to each"... ragas we are referring to... "are those at which the divinities are at leisure to attend at the place where their favorite"...it says here "tune is sung"...we could substitute raga for that..."and to inspire the performer with due warmth in his execution."

SS: You see this has been a tradition in our music, especially North Indian classical music. And to follow the time theory, we call it, and this is related with the sunrise to sunset, and from again the circle of sunset to sunrise. And the theory is, the whole idea is that the human body and mind reacts to changes in nature. This is a very Indian thought, that this human body is made up of five elements, that is earth, fire, water, air and space. And whatever happens with the nature, nature consists of all these elements and that reacts on our body and mind. For example, when we see a rising sun the kind of feelings that we experience while watching a rising sun, or before that when its getting...the colors are changing and the darkness is going away, the kind of feeling that it evokes in you is totally different from the moonlight or at noontime.

Great article Swarji

this is a really cool musical thread which we don't really see that often anyways.... 👏 👏 👏

Originally posted by: soulsoup

Wah Sahana!! Made my day! 😊

Thanks Sawraj ji! 👏👏👏

Listening to 'Sohni' now by the legendary Shiv Kumar Sharma Now! 😳
It's little funny to play a night raga in the morning though! 😆😆

Well actually, this comment from Shivkumar Sharma made my day too! I have been to so many of his concerts, and I find that his attitude towards music is so different from many others. It's like he is playing for his own spiritual salvation, not to entertain us. Our clapping doesn't matter to him. He is reaching out to God every time. I would feel crestfallen when his concert came to an end.

Years ago, in Kala Mandir (Kolkata) when he gave one such performance, the audience would just not let him stop or go away. A 2 hour programme became 3.5 hours but the audience wanted more. That was a treat I'll never forget.

I have never seen him giving a mediocre or lacklustre performance. Excellence is a habit with him. I think my saddest day will be when age will hamper his performance.

I am also amazed by the deep friendship between him and Hariprasad Chaurasia, who has the same attitude towards his bansuri. Together they have actually captivated a generation which has little inclination for anything which touches the soul.

Here you go - "Madhya Gat" from "Raga Rageshwari" of Pt. Shivkumar Sharma! 😊

Download from:
 http://rapidshare.de/files/25510198/03-Madhya_Gat.mp3.html

Originally posted by: punjini

Years ago, in Kala Mandir (Kolkata) when he gave one such performance, the audience would just not let him stop or go away. A 2 hour programme became 3.5 hours but the audience wanted more. That was a treat I'll never forget.

 

I heard him in Dover Lane Music conference - with Ustad Zakir Hussain! 😊

From 1am to 4am - 3 hours of sheer delight!! 😃

Originally posted by: chukkna

Wow bay area... do keep us informed abt it. Local concert of his desciple or of Pandit ji?

Madan Oak is a bay area Santoor artist and disciple of Pt. Shivkumar Sharma. He has peformed in many concerts in bay area and in US. You can see his profile here ---

http://www.zoominfo.com/directory/Oak_Madan_369172282.htm

I had organized one of his concerts in 2004.

Madan has also conntributed following information in Panditji's site

www.santoor.com

  [Compiled by Madan Oak]

Santoor is basically made out of wood. The framework is generally made out of either Walnut or Maple wood. The top and bottom boards sometimes can be either plywood or vineer. On the top board, also known as soundboard, wooden bridges are placed, in order to seat stretched strings across. The strings are tide on nails or pins on the left side of the instrument and are stretched over the soundboard on top of the bridges to the right side.

On the right side there are steel tuning pegs or tuning pins as they are commonly known, that allows tuning each individual string to a desired musical note or a frequency or a pitch. Santoor is a unique Indian string instrument that is not plucked or bowed but is played with a pair of light wooden mallets or hammers. Santoor is played while sitting in a "Padmasana" or "Ardha-padmasana" position and placing it on top of the lap.

Santoor is a flat shaped instrument in the form of a trapezoid that means it is wider at one end and short at the other end. It is a wooden box that is broader in size for base notes or low pitch notes and is tapered at the other side for the high pitched notes. While playing, the broad side is closer to the waist of the musician and the shorter side is away from the musician. Both left and right hands are used to lightly strike the strikers on the strings. One can also choose to skillfully glide the strikers on the strings.

In any case, Santoor is a very delicate instrument and is very sensitive to such light strokes and glides. The strokes are played always on the strings either closer to the bridges or a little away from bridges. Both styles result in different tones. Sometimes strokes by one hand can be muffled by the other hand by using the face of the palm just to create a variety.

Santoor can have either 29 or 31 or 33 Bridges. Most common Santoor have 29 bridges. Each bridge is tuned to a single note. Each bridge rests 3 strings on it. All of the 3 strings of a bridge are tuned to the same note or frequency. Although there can be some bridges where one can have upto 4 strings and they all can be tuned to different notes. Such a bridge is known as "Chikari" and the notes on these strings are set to the prominent notes of the raga or the composition that is being played.

Placement of Notes on Santoor

Although there can be a little variation in tuning style, here is a standard positioning of notes for a 31 string Santoor. This method of tuning is evolved through time and efforts. It gives to the musician an ease in tuning and playing. Ofcourse, it is up to a musician as to how he or she wants to tune the instrument. The style of tuning has a big impact on how much comfortable it is while playing straight ascending and descending sequences on Santoor.