Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and Pt Rahul Sharma to perform in Sri Lanka

To celebrate the 73rd Independence Day of India, the High Commission of India is organising a special cultural event ‘Strings of Harmony’ – a musical Jugalbandi featuring legendary Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and his son Pandit Rahul Sharma on Thursday 15 August at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Convention Hall at 6:45 p.m.  

Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, the legendary maestro of Santoor, (the 100 stringed unique folk instrument from the valley of Kashmir), has created a new genre of instrumental music with his creative genius through his performance career of over half a century. He has been bestowed with a long list of national and international awards including Padma Vibhushan, the highest civilian award from Govt. of India. His compositions for blockbuster Bollywood films like Silsila, Chandni, Lamhe, Darr, etc. are all time favourites across the globe. 

Trained by his father Pt. Rahul Sharma, he has carved a niche for himself in the world of Indian classical and fusion world music. With over 60 released albums spanning over a career of 20 years Rahul has experimented various genres from classical to folk to new age and world fusion. Rahul has released one of India’s bestselling albums called ‘Namaste India’ with world-renowned saxophonist Kenny G., featuring the voice of India’s leading actor Amitabh Bachchan. They will be accompanied by eminent musicians from India such as Barkha Rahul Sharma (tanpura), Yogesh Samsi (Tabla), Bhawani Shankar (Pakhawaj), and Takahiro Arai (tanpura).

The event is being organised in collaboration with Ministry of Housing, Construction and Cultural Affairs, Government of Sri Lanka, ITC Hotels, Taj Samudra and BMICH.

Admission to the event is free and by invitation only. Limited passes are available at Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (Indian Cultural Centre).