Santoor maestro and Sufi exponent Pandit Bhajan Sopori passed away at Gurugram’s Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI) on Thursday.
“Noted Santoor exponent Pandit Bhajan Sopori was diagnosed with colon cancer stage IV. The disease had spread to the liver and bones. He was under treatment at the hospital, since February 2022 and had received chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy over the last couple of months.
“He was admitted at FMRI on May 18, 2022, after his condition had deteriorated. Despite the best efforts of the doctors, however, he succumbed to multi-organ failure on June 2, 2022,” the hospital shared in an official statement.
“His cremation will take place tomorrow (Friday) afternoon,” a source said.
Born in Srinagar in 1948, he had a double Masters’ degree in Indian classical music specialising both in sitar and santoor. The versatile artiste also had a Master’s degree in English Literature and studied Western Classical Music at Washington University.
Sopori received multiple awards through his career, including the Padma Shri in 2004, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1992 and the Jammu and Kashmir State Lifetime Achievement Award.
The musician-composer belonged to north Kashmir’s Sopore district and came from the “Sufiana Gharana”.
Sopori, who gave his first public performance at the age of 10, was initiated into the intricacies of santoor playing by his grandfather Pandit Samsar Chand Sopori and later by his father Pandit Shamboo Nath Sopori.
The musician is considered a pioneer in establishing the santoor on national and international platforms as a complete solo instrument.
He is also credited with innovating the instrument to improve its tonal quality and range.
Sopori composed music for over 6,000 songs in almost all Indian languages, including Hindi, Kashmiri, Dogri, Sindhi, Urdu and Bhojpuri, as well as Persian and Arabic.
During his career, he composed music for ghazals written by greats such as Ghalib, Daag, Momin, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Iqbal, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Firakh Gaurakhpuri. He also set to tune the works of Kabir and Meera Bai.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah described him as a “colossus in the world of classical Indian music who made the santoor his own”.
Condoling the musician’s death on Twitter, the former Chief Minister of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir said he was “very sorry to hear about the tragic demise of Padma Shri Pandit Bhajan Sopori sahib. A great son of the soil...”
The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference also mourned Sopori’s death in a tweet.
“Dr Farooq, @OmarAbdullah condole demise of Santoor Maestro Bajan Sopori. They said ‘he was a great human being, a very talented musician. His contribution to music will be remembered by generations to come. They prayed for peace to the deceased & strength to the bereaved family’.”
BJP leader Devender Singh Rana remembered Sopori as a humble person. “Sad to hear about the demise of Santoor Maestro Pt Bhajan Sopori. Panditji was a very humble person. The music world will miss him. My Heartfelt condolences to Mrs Sopori and @abhaysopori. May the departed soul rest in peace in heaven.”
In its tribute to the santoor maestro, the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY remembered the musician as the cultural bridge of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country.
“The #SaintofSantoor Pt. #BhajanSopori is no more. He breathed his last today. A cultural bridge of J&K with the rest of the country, he belonged to the fabled Sopori SufianaGharana, the traditional #Santoor family and was a huge supporter of SPIC MACAY. May God bless his soul.”