Shivkumar Sharma died on Tuesday at the age of 83 due to cardiac arrest and is survived by his wife Manorama Sharma and sons Rahul and Rohit Sharma.
Mumbai: Stalwarts of the Cineworld, including Bollywood’s power couple of the yesteryears Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, reached the residence of santoor maestro Shivkumar Sharma on Wednesday to pay their last respects to the legendary musician.
Sharma died on Tuesday at the age of 83 due to cardiac arrest and is survived by his wife Manorama Sharma and sons Rahul and Rohit Sharma. The musician’s body was kept at his residence for the antim darshan from 10 am for people to pay their last respects. Apart from the Bachchans, Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar too paid their respects.
On Tuesday, the Maharashtra government had announced a state funeral for the santoor maestro and the Governor had issued a statement mourning the death.
Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said, “Our cultural world is poorer with the demise of Pandit Shivkumar Sharma Ji. He popularised the Santoor at a global level. His music will continue to enthral the coming generations. I fondly remember my interactions with him. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti.”
Sharma was suffering from kidney-related problems for the last six months and was on dialysis. It was Sharma who took santoor to an international level. Prior to that, santoor used to be known only as an instrument from Jammu and Kashmir.
A statement released by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray read, “Santoor reached where Indian music reached. This is the contribution of Pt Sharma’s continuous sadhana (disciplined and dedicated practice)…the Indian music field can never forget Pt Sharma’s contribution.”
Meanwhile, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari said, “The news of the demise of Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma is shocking. Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma was instrumental in taking Santoor and Indian classical music to the global stage.”
The music world along with the cine world too expressed their grief at the demise of Sharma.
