<span style="color: #222222;">The last rites of legendary Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma will be performed in Mumbai this evening. The 84-year-old musician breathed his last in Mumbai yesterday.<br />''<br />''Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed condolences and said, Shivkumar Sharma popularised the Santoor at a global level and his music will continue to enthrall the coming generations.<br />'' <br />''Padmabhushan Mohanveena Exponent Pt Vishwamohan Bhatt conveyed his condolences.<br />''<br />''Pandit Sharma's father Uma Dutt Sharma, worked as a music supervisor at Radio Kashmir in Jammu and later, Kashmir.<br />''<br />''Shivkumar Sharma accompanied his father in the children's programmes at the radio station when he was just about eight. Later he became a top-graded artist on All India Radio.<br />''<br />''AIR  reports that Pandit Shivkumar Sharma was born on 13 January 1938, in Jammu into a musical family. His father classical vocalist, Uma Dutt Sharma started teaching him vocals and tabla when he was just five. At the age of thirteen, Sharma started learning Santoor, a folk instrument that traced its origins to ancient Persia but was played in Kashmir.<br />''<br />''The Iconic Musician gave the santoor global recognition.<br />''<br />''He collaborated with Tabla Maestro Zakir Hussain and with flutist Hariprasad Chaurasia on many of his performances as well as on his albums. He composed music for many Hindi films in collaboration with Hariprasad Chaurasia, starting with Silsila in 1980. Some of the movies they composed music for were musical hits, such as Faasle, Chandni, Lamhe, and Darr.<br />''<br />''Sharma was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1986, the Padma Shri, in 1991, and the Padma Bhushan, in 2001.</span><br />