Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma was born to an exceedingly musical family in the divine valley of Jammu and Kashmir. Trained under the rigorous tutelage of his talented father, Pt. Umadutt Sharma, Shiv Kumar naturally was inclined towards the details of musical instruments. However, during his boyhood, he was more passionate about the tabla and was ardent to pursue with it. But, with the insistence of his father, he was back in line on the unusual folk instrument, santoor. Side-by-side he was encouraged by Pt. Umadutt Sharma to finish his literary career, and Shiv Kumar thus possesses degrees in English, Literature and Economics. He was selected by the legendary V. Shantaram to score for his film, as the background scorer. Later came the elongated time period, when he was engrossed in the laborious task to improvise and mature the santoor and bring it to the heights of a classical instrument. And the alterations he brought about for the instrument are epoch-making and groundbreaking. It is due to his mammoth contribution and obsessive efforts that santoor stands today in its present position. Shiv Kumar`s innate intellect and brilliance renders his every performance with a tinge of tuneful wonder, haunting rhythm and of course an effervescent feel of the mountains and pristine rivers.

More than any one in the present times, it is Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, who has given form, substance and passion to Kinnara sangeet. No one has been able to distil the pristine beauty of a land and its people into a musical instrument as Shiv Kumar Sharma has done with santoor.

Shiv Kumar Sharma was born in Jammu into a Dogra Brahmin family. His father Pt. Umadutt Sharma was a renowned singer and tabla player who had received his training under Pt. Bade Ramdas of Beneras gharana. His job as the Chief Producer of Music with Jammu AIR gave him wide exposure to different varieties of music. Umadutt Sharma personally trained his son from the age of five in both vocal music and tabla. Shiv Kumar, however, was keener on the tabla in his boyhood and early youth that the santoor. Being deeply interested in both popular and rare musical instruments, Pt. Umadutt Sharma was drawn to satoor, swayed as he was by its lovely tone and what he saw as its musical possibilities. He impressed on Shiv Kumar to take to the instrument and popularise it in whatever way he could. H also encouraged his son to distinguish himself academically alongside his practice in music. Shiv Kumar took degrees in English Literature and Economics, in order to widen his intellectual horizons. By now, he had become a proficient tabla player and accompanied many reputed singers and instrumentalists of his time. Soon however, as a result of his father`s persuasion, he took to the santoor, despite the fact that it was looked upon only as a folk instrument in the early 1950s. Shiv Kumar Sharma shifted to Bombay during the 1950s, following some promising offers from the film industry. At the instance of his daughter Madhura Jasraj, movie mogul V. Shantaram gave the gifted and young Shiv Kumar an opening in the film Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje. Along with Hariprasad Chaurasia, he composed the background score for this highly successful movie venture. Shiv Kumar`s melodious chords struck many a chord in the minds of millions of music lovers at the time, as also thereafter.

Encouraged by his father, Shiv Kumar undertook a series of experiments involving many minor and major modifications in the design, and mode of playing of the instrument. The changes he brought about was gigantic and path-breaking. The Soofiana santoor as one sees today was the brainchild of Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma. Yet there are other players like Bhajan Sopori, who still use the Soofiana instrument, comprising of 100 strings. The santor by the Pandit himself has only 86 strings and is tuned differently. The size of the resonance box was altered, the gauge, as well as the material used for the string was changed to achieve the ideal timbre required to take on the subtleties and nuances of classical music. The range of the music improved and the tonal flexibility was enhanced, following ten years of strenuous research and experimentation. The strings used to produce shuddh swaras were moved to the right, and those producing komal swaras were moved to the left, to facilitate playing. He also evolved a style of playing, whereby he could sustain the notes and retains the continuity for a while longer, than the traditional Soofiana instrument could use the strikers. Meend-like effects were possible in the modified santoor, as a result of which he could attempt complex raagas convincingly.

Yet more intimidating than his wrestle with the instrument was the one with the audience, comprising of connoisseurs and critics, who gibed at his attempts at transforming a folk instrument into a classical one. The battles he had to fight, the prejudices he had to face and the scorn he had to endure in the 1950s were numerous. At a major concert in Bombay in 1955, the audience, comprising music lovers and well-known critics, heard and were compelled to acknowledge Shiv Kumar`s genius, as also the melodic potential of the santoor. It took Shiv Kuamr another five years to further perfect the instrument and make it truly concert-worthy. The 1960s and 1970s saw his predictable ascent as one of the ace players in the country. The hard battle against prejudice and habit was won.

Shiv Kumar`s deep knowledge of vocal and instrumental genres helped him absorb the attractive features dhrupad-ang and sitar-baaj inot the santoor. The alaap-jod-jhala pattern followed by sarod and sitar players was incorporated in to the gramework of his modified instrument. Those who had severe doubts about whether a folk instrument could take on the complexities required of the tantkari-ang, were flabbergasted when they heard Shiv Kumar deploy its characteristic features effortlessly. Of course, behind the ease that he achieved with the instrument is a tale of years of experiment and toil. His mode of playing excellently coalesces melody, rhythm and rhythmic play, felicity and great skill. In fact, he is one of the acknowledged contemporary masters of laya-kari. His early career as a tabla player helped him immensely in forging an idiom that amalgamates melodic charm with rhythmic dynamism in a truly integrated manner. This virtuoso performer could play attractive gats with outstanding precision and aesthetic grace.

Shiv Kumar Sharma`s music possesses immense fluency, tuneful flicker and rhythmic élan. His tone is exhilarating and his movement is playful. His alaaps are evocative, while his jods and jhalas are stimulating. His santoor indeed evokes unforgettable visual impressions associated with mountains, forests and rivers. When he plays Kalavati with that lively zest, one is barged with visions of a meandering river. When he plays the alaap of the Rageshri, one envisions the sun-kissed snow peaks glow. His Ahir Bhairav conjures the image of gleaming raindrops gently sliding off lotus petals. The sweet-sad mood of this early dawn raaga is hauntingly captured in his HMV recording. Shiv Kumar`s celebrated Kirwani stirs up feelings of humid melancholy. His outstanding live recording of Kaushi Kanada is a truly inspired piece. None can render Pahadi, with as much feeling and finish as Shiv Kumar Sharma. When he renders dhuns, one gets the feeling that this raaga is indeed a part of his inheritance.

Today, if the santoor vies with other time-honoured Indian instruments, on and off the national and international concert platforms, Shiv Kuamr Sharma alone is the reason for it. His place in the galaxy of contemporary Indian instrumentalists is the same as that enjoyed by Amjad Ali Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia and Zakir Hussain. He, along with Hariprasad Chaurasia, has composed and directed the music for some highly popular screen hits like Bobby, Sargam, Mere Mehboob and, most notably Silsila, under the pen-name `Shiv-Hari`. Together, the flourishing duo have brought a few jugalbandis too, which did well in the market. In the very late 60s, Shiv Kumar, Hariprasad Chaurasia and Brij Bhushan Kabra brought out an eminently successful album, Call of the Valley. Its catchy, scintillating and vivid music, its judicious combination of the santoor, the flute and the Hawaiian guitar, made it a runaway hit with millions of music listeners globally.

Wherever he goes, Shiv Kumar Sharma evokes the refreshing scenic splendour of the valleys on his beloved santoor. He remains unequalled in his power to do so. His son, Rahul Sharma, a rather late entrant into classical music, hopes to follow in his father`s footsteps.