“Saint of the Santoor” Pandit Bhajan Sopori Passed Away

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