BHAJAN SOPORI ----- DIVINE SANTOOR

Описание: A Living Legend and a Musical Genius Pandit Bhajan Sopori is more than an individual – a performer and composer par excellence, musicologist, teacher, writer, poet, and an extraordinary human being – he is a complete institution in himself. 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”.
Pandit Bhajan Sopori was born in Srinagar (Kashmir) into a family of musicians of the fabled ‘Sufiana Gharana’ of Kashmir (the exclusive traditional Santoor family of the country). Pandit Bhajan Sopori was initiated into Santoor playing by his grandfather Pandit Samsar Chand Sopori ji and later by his father Pandit Shamboo Nath Sopori ji, hailed as the father of music in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Pandit Bhajan Sopori, has been the pioneer in establishing the Santoor on national and international platforms as a complete solo instrument. He has increased the range of the Santoor from the conventional one-and-a-half to more than 5 octaves, balanced the ‘Kalam’ (strikers) with ‘boles’ and attached the ‘Tarab’ and ‘Tumba’ for enhanced tonal quality, etc. These innovations combined with his strong base in traditional ‘Raga–Sangeet’ allow for a systematic exposition of the Raga combining both the ‘Gayaki’ and the ‘Tantrakari Ang’ (style) in his recitals, demonstrating all the essential stylistic nuances of Hindustani Classical Music such as Meend, Glides, Gamak, Boles, including the ‘Dhrupad Ang’ with the accompaniment of the Pakhawaj. His recitals are known for their high degree of technical virtuosity combining highly intricate ‘layakari’, legendary ‘chandhkari’, speedy ‘taan’ patterns running through three octaves and a melodious ‘alaap’. He has thereby expanded the scope of the Santoor as a classical instrument and formally established the ‘Sopori Baaj’ in the realm of Indian Classical Music for which he is hailed as the “Saint of Santoor” and the “King of Strings”. It is also entirely to the credit of the Sopori Family that Hindustani Classical and light music acquire legitimate space in the State of Jammu & Kashmir.
A highly learned person, Pandit Bhajan Sopori, has a double Masters degree in Indian Classical music, specializing in both the Sitar and the Santoor, besides having a Masters degree in English Literature. He has also studied Western Classical Music at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Pandit Bhajan Sopori is the only classical musician of the country to have composed music for over 6000 songs in almost all the languages of the country like Hindi, Kashmiri, Dogri, Sindhi, Urdu, Sanskrit, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Himachali, Rajasthani, Telegu, Tamil, etc. and also foreign languages like Persian, Arabic, etc. His acclaimed work includes compositions for various musical genres like Ghazal, Nazam, Geet, Bhajan, Choirs, Devotional (Hindu, Sikh, Muslim & Christian), Children songs, etc. Bhajan Sopori has also composed and introduced a number of new Ragas like Raga Laleshwari, Raga Patwanti, Raga Nirmalranjani and Raga Hem Rast.
Through his profound analysis, survey of history and various musical cultures, he established the Kashmiri Santoor as the predecessor to the resembling Santoor like instruments found in various other parts of the world. His propagation of music brought a revolution in the world of music and he has established a system for solo performance, voice culture, composition, arrangement, orchestration, conducting, designing of choral music, etc. He has also widened the scope of devotional and religious music.
To further his quest of promoting music as a medium of peace and harmony, Pandit Bhajan Sopori has traveled widely and performing extensively at all the prestigious festivals and conferences in the country and abroad, propagating Indian Classical Music and culture all over the world and going to the remotest of places. In this pursuit, he has hundreds of disciples in the country and abroad in the field of Santoor, Sitar, Tabla, Guitar, Sarangi, vocal music, music direction, Rabab, Clarinet, Violin, etc. both in classical and light music. It has been his constant endeavour to patronize the upcoming artists and help them establish themselves in the music stream.
For his enormous contributions, Pandit Bhajan Sopori has received hundreds of national and international awards, lifetime honours, titles and decoration.
Pandit Bhajan Sopori has a unique distinction and honour to be on an Indian Postal Stamp of Rs. 5.00/- presented by the Indian Postal Department, Govt. of India as a special honor to him in the year 2011 for his extraordinary and missionary work in the field of art and culture.