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“Saint of the Santoor” Pandit Bhajan Sopori Passed Away

  • 04 Jun 2022

Legendary Santoor maestro and Padma Shree awardee Pandit Bhajan Sopori passed away on 2nd June 2022.

  • Born as Pandit Bhajan Lal in 1948 in Srinagar, Sopori went on to master the Santoor - a classical Indian musical instrument.
  • Regarded as the cultural bridge of Jammu & Kashmir with the rest of the country, Pandit Bhajan Sopori is hailed as the “Saint of the Santoor” and the “King of Strings”.
  • Sopori was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1992 and the Padma Shri in 2004.
  • He was awarded the Jammu and Kashmir State lifetime achievement award on 67th Indian Republic Day 2016.
  • He was also conferred National Kalidas Samman 2020 by the Government of Madhya Pradesh for his enormous contribution to Hindustani classical music (Santoor).