Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh condole demise of santoor maestro Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

Following the sad passing away of one of India's most well-known classical musicians Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, former Indian cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh took to social media to offer their condolences. The santoor virtuoso passed away at the age of 83 following a heart attack on Tuesday.

Tendulkar and Yuvraj offer condolences to Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

How and when did Pandit Shivkumar Sharma pass away?

According to PTI, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, who was one of India's most well-known classical musicians, passed away between 8 and 8:30 AM on Tuesday at his Pali Hill residence due to a heart attack. Interestingly, the santoor virtuoso neer retired and was also due to perform in Bhopal next week.

A family source told PTI, "He had a severe heart attack in the morning... He was active and was to perform in Bhopal the next week. He was on regular dialysis but was still active."

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma's career

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, one half of the famous 'Shiv-Hari' composer duo along with flautist Hari Prasad Chaurasia, is survived by his wife Manorama and sons Rahul, also a santoor player, and Rohit. The Shiv-Hari duo composed music for an array of films such as "Silsila", "Lamhe", "Chandni" and "Darr".

A Padma Vibhushan recipient, Sharma was born in Jammu in 1938 and is believed to be the first musician to have played Indian classical music on the santoor, a folk instrument from Jammu and Kashmir. Sharma received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1986, followed by the Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.

Rahul gives emotional tribute to father Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

Describing his father as his 'guruji', Rahul said the end was peaceful. "He is not with us anymore but his music lives on. He went away peacefully. He has given the entire world his music, peace through his music and what he did for santoor... it's now known across the world. His music will always live on. He will be with us through his music. He had age-related issues. He was 83. We had done a concert together 15 days ago, everything was fine. He passed away peacefully," Rahul told reporters outside his home.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Our cultural world is poorer with the demise of Pandit Shivkumar Sharma Ji. He popularised the Santoor at a global level. His music will continue to enthral the coming generations. I fondly remember my interactions with him. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti."