Santoor maestro Pandit Bhajan Sopori passes away

Santoor maestro Pandit Bhajan Sopori passes away

• Sopori’s death comes just weeks after santoor virtuoso Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, who also belonged to Kashmir and took the stringed instrument to the classical music stage, died on May 10.
• The musician-composer belonged to north Kashmir’s Sopore district and came from the ‘Sufiana Gharana’.

Indian Santoor

• The Indian santoor instrument is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer, and a variation of the Iranian Santur.
• The Indian santoor is more rectangular and can have more strings than its Persian counterpart, which generally has 72 strings.
• The instrument is generally made of walnut and has 25 bridges.
• Each bridge has 4 strings, making for a total of 100 strings. It is a traditional instrument in Jammu and Kashmir, and dates back to ancient times.
• It was called Shatha Tantri Veena in ancient Sanskrit texts.
• It is played in a style of music known as the SufianaMausiqi.
• Some researchers slot it as an improvised version of a primitive instrument played in the Mesopotamian times (1600–900 B.C.)
• The santoor is played while sitting in an asana called ardha-padmasana and placing it on the lap
• In the NatyaShastra, compiled by Bharat Muni dated 200 B.C.-200 A.D., musical instruments have been divided into four main categories on the basis of how sound is produced.

(i) The Tata Vadya or Chordophones- Stringed instruments
(ii) The SushiraVadya or Aerophones- Wind instruments
(iii) The AvanaddhaVadya or Membranophones- Percussion instruments
(iv) The Ghana Vadya or Idiophones- Solid instruments which do not require tuning.