Kolkata: In 1957, Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma was invited by Pt Jasraj to perform at the prestigious All India Music Conference in Kolkata. The concert was broadcast live on All India Radio. The next morning, listeners came to see how the santoor that they had listened the night before actually looked like. On Tuesday, Kolkatans with strings attached to the legend were left crestfallen by the news of his demise.
Nonagenarian Pt Vijay Kichlu told TOI that he was “shattered”. “I had such a long association with him. I can’t control my tears and am at a loss for words,” he said. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted, saying his “departure impoverishes our cultural world”.
This city has seen Sharma both as a performer and a listener. At that 1957 programme, Sharma was accompanied on tabla by Ustad Anokhelal Mishra. The 19-year-old was awarded cash prizes and medals. Nepal’s maharana gave him a gold medal. The prestigious Inayat Khan medal, awarded to the most promising young instrumentalist, was conferred on him. Both Pt Jasraj and his brother, Pt Maniram, had taken great pride in introducing him to everyone around.
During those days, he and Pt Jasraj shared a room. In ‘Journey With A Hundred Strings’, which he wrote with Ina Puri, Sharma referred to attending all-night concerts in the city. He referred to Basusree cinema where people spilled out of the auditorium and stood on tram tracks listening to the concerts on loudspeakers. “Those were magical moments — to be part of such a movement, to see Calcuttans huddled beneath shawls and woolens on cold winter nights to hear legendary musicians play through the misty air,” he wrote.
Ninety five-year-old Ravi Prabha Burman remembered a day in 50s’ Kolkata when her neighbour, Pt Jasraj, had brought his “friend” over to her Southern Avenue house. “That was the first time we heard about an instrument called santoor. Shivji explained that the instrument had 100 strings. He had played all evening at our place,” she said. Her husband invited Sharma to play for the members of Bharatiya Sanskriti Sansad at 10 Chowringhee Lane. “I had to introduce him at the concert and remember scanning books to get information about a santoor,” she said.
According to Pt Anindo Chatterjee, the legend, who started off as a tabla player, lent a new dimension to rhythm. Remembering two concerts where he had accompanied the maestro, Chatterjee said, “One was in 2009/2010 where he had played Shanti Dhwani at Dover Lane. The other was in the 90s where he had played Kausi Kanara at Indoor Stadium.” Listening to Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma-Ustad Zakir Hussain’s duet was a euphoric experience. “In the late 80s, I listened to their concert at Kalamandir. In 2015, I was spellbound with his aesthetically rich ragmala at a Swar Samrat Festival concert with Zakirji. His recitals were an example of a perfect blend between melody and rhythmic intricacies,” Pt Tejendra Narayan Majumdar said.
Puri, who co-wrote two books with him, described him as a “Renaissance Man”. “Shivji never limited himself to his own music. He has played the tabla with Begum Akhtar. I heard him sing during the music launch of our book. I also saw a deeply humane side of his persona,” she said.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/master-of-strings-who-struck-a-chord-with-kolkata/articleshow/91478699.cms
