Santoor resonates Kashmiri culture at PULSE

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Carrying forward the legacy of his 'Sufiana Gharana', Abhay Rustum Sopori, son of Santoor maestro Pandit Bhajan Sopori, had the audience rocking as he stirred the strings of Santoor playing some inimitable tunes at the AIIMS cultural festival over the weekend.

Abhay, an instrumentalist-cum-composer, took everyone by surprise after he made the audience to join him singing a few lines from 'Raag Rageshrea' and took a surprising interlude from the so-called orthodox style of singing ragas at the week-long PULSE 2006 being organised by AIIMS students.

Belonging to a family of musicians from Kashmir, where Santoor plays a pivotal role as it represents the culture of the state, Abhay has left no stone unturned in taking its culture to the new heights though he was born and brought up miles away from the Valley.

Accompanied by Mithlesh Jha on tabla, for Abhay ''sounds are very effective to a human body and soul, and when it comes to Santoor---a delightful reminder of the Kashmir Valley---its magical quality of melliflous tunes becomes a great stress reliever''.

''Santoor is everything to me. It's my life---I am here only because of it. And above all its is my family which is now about 10 generations old,'' he said after a performance, which followed the vocal recital by a young Sufi singer Ragini Rainu.

Ragini, a disciple of Pandit Bhajan Sopari, also facinated the young audience, mostly comprising medicos, at the annual event dedicated to them so that they can take a week-long break out from their busy schedule.

An ardent fan of his guru and father Pandit Sopori, Abhay aspires to follow in his footsteps. ''I am trying hard to follow his footsteps as it requires marathon efforts to adapt the instrument according to the need,'' he said when asked about how he moulded his instrument with a slight tinge of contemporary variations to match it with the young minds of the audience.

Giving his first public performance in 1996 at a prestigious concert here, Abhay has eminently carved a niche for himself . He has made some innovations in Santoor by introducing the 'Open String' concept to boost the lower octave of the instrument and further developing the 'Been Ang' on Santoor. He has also invented, designed and introduced a new 30-stringed instrument in the world of music and named it 'Sur Santoor.' Abhay was awarded the prestigious 'Youngs India Award 2006' and 'Kalawant Samman 2004' for his excellence in music as a Santoor player and a music composer apart from other honours in India and abroad.