⇒ Santoor maestro Pandit Bhajan Sopori passed away on 2 June 2022 in Gurugram.
Pandit Bhajan Sopori was a performer, composer, musicologist, teacher, writer and poet. Pandit Bhajan Sopori is hailed as the “Saint of the Santoor” and the “King of Strings”. 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.
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. For his contribution to Indian music and culture, he has been also honored with J&K Government Civilian Award, Doctorate of Literature by Utkal University (Odisha), National Flag Honour of the Arab Republic of Egypt, etc.
In 2011, Sopori was honored with a Rs 5 stamp for his extraordinary work in the field of art and culture.