Pandit Bhajan Sopori: Goodbye, 'Saint of Santoor'

Call it tragic twist of irony or double whammy, the nation has lost two of its best santoor players in quick succession. While the music fraternity is yet to recover from the loss of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, yet another santoor maestro Pandit Bhajan Sopori hailed as “Saint of Santoor” died after a long illness at a hospital in Gurugram.

Hailing from Sopore in Kashmir Valley, the true essence of Kashmiriyat pulsated in his music upholding the sufiana tradition of Indian classical music.

The 100-stringed santoor may not be every musician’s forte, but his family has played it for six generations and he imbibed its finer nuances from his grandfather SC Sopori and father Shambhoo Nath. No wonder his first santoor recital came at the age of five.

Over decades if he has been instrumental in putting santoor on the world stage, it also became his medium of communication and reflection of his inner self. Even after migration from the troubled home state, he carried the beauty of the Valley both in his music and persona.

Always smiling, he called himself “product of pyar and not PR” and would often walk down the lanes of nostalgia and recall the music filled days of 1950s when he performed at the residence of political leader, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad.

The syncretism of India not only lived in his santoor playing style, the sweet and tranquil notes, but also in his compositions. He has the distinction of composing thousands of songs in various languages and the works of eminent Urdu and Persian ghazal writers of India and Pakistan like Hali, Jammi, Ghalib, Daag, Momin, Bhadur Shah Zaffar, Iqbal, Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Firakh Gaurakhpuri.

Various patriotic songs like “Bharat Bharat Hum Iski Santaan”, “Hum Honge Kaamyaab”, “Vande Mataram”, “Naman Tujhko Mere Bharat” too were elevated to greater musical heights with his musical prowess. Besides a master’s degree in instrumental music, specialising in sitar as well as santoor, the quest for more took him to Washington University, US, where he learnt western classical music. Recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Padma Shri and J&K State Lifetime Achievement Award, he was a rare musical gem. His enriching legacy lives on in his compositions and in his many disciples, including his son Abhay Sopori.