Released on: October 31, 2007, 3:01 am

Press Release Author: Deepak Gupta

Industry: Advertising

Press Release Summary: The Santoor Legend and Music Composer Pandit Bhajan Sopori
has been honoured with the highest civilian award of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.


Press Release Body: The Santoor Legend and Music Composer Pandit Bhajan Sopori has
been honoured with the highest civilian award of the State of Jammu and Kashmir by
the Hon'ble Governor S.K. Sinha and Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad for his lifetime
dedication and contribution to the Jammu and Kashmir State at a function organized
at SKICC Auditorium, Srinagar by Govt. of J&K.
Pandit Bhajan Sopori\'s has single handedly carried the culture and music of the
State of Jammu and Kashmir on his shoulders, in not just taking it to international
heights but even providing a respectable status in the Valley, due to his diligent
and untiring efforts in nurturing the spirit across generations. The honour is in
recognition of his lifetime service.
Pandit Bhajan Sopori is heralded as not just the \'pride of the State of Jammu and
Kashmir\' and also the \'pride of the country\'. The mystic master has been the pioneer
in establishing the Santoor on national and international platforms and has come
long way since he created history by being the first person to play the Indian
Classical music on the Santoor way back in the early 1950s. In his five decades of
dedicated work he has explored various dimensions of the Santoor, carrying out many
path-breaking innovations for which he is hailed as the 'Saint of Santoor' and the
'King of Strings'. He has formally established the only authentic style of playing
the classical Santoor known as the 'Sopori Baaj'.
A composer of almost 5000 songs in various languages, Pandit Bhajan Sopori has used
his Santoor and his compositions to highlight the concept of oneness and foster
unity enshrining the idea of national integration, humanism and peace. His recitals
and compositions bear the distinctive stamp of his virtuosity and erudition.
The quiet and unassuming maestro is the bearer of the rich musical legacy of the
fabled 'Sufiana Gharana' of Kashmir, the exclusive Santoor family of the country. In
fact what Sopori family has given to the world of music is the instrument Santoor.
For his contribution, he has received numerous awards and honours. Some of the
honours conferred on him include Padmashri, Sangeet Natak Academy Award, Shiromani
Award, Delhi Ratan Award, Delhi Telugu Academy Award, Shardha Samman, Kala Yogi
Award, Golden Jubilee Celebrations Award (AIR-Srinagar) and other lifetime
achievement awards like Sangeet Vibhuti, Raag Sagar, Pt. Gama Maharaj Samman, etc.
He has also been honoured with the National Flag of the Arab Republic of Egypt.


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