Renowned Santoor maestro Pandit Bhajan Sopori passed away on June 2 in Gurugram. He was 74.
- Shri Sopori was suffering from colon cancer. He was former Director of Music at All India Radio and looked after Hindustani Classical Music.
- Along with Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, he is credited to have brought santoor, a lesser known Kashmiri instrument, into the global limelight.
- Pandit Bhajan Sopori is regarded as the cultural link between Jammu & Kashmir and the rest of the country.
- He is also known as the Saint of the Santoor and the King of Strings.
- Sopori received multiple awards throughout his career, including the Padma Shri in 2004, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1992, the Jammu and Kashmir State Lifetime Achievement Award, National Flag Honour of the Arab Republic of Egypt, among others.
- In 2011, Sopori was honoured with a ₹ 5 stamp, a special tribute by the Indian Postal Department for his extraordinary work in the field of art and culture.
