“Who is associated with the santoor?” This kind of question appears in almost every SSC and bank exam. The answer is a person, an instrument, and sometimes an award. Here is the list in one place.
Four types of instruments (Natya Shastra)
| Type | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Tata Vadya | String instruments | Sitar, sarod, veena, violin, santoor |
| Sushira Vadya | Wind instruments | Flute (bansuri), shehnai, nadaswaram |
| Avanaddha Vadya | Percussion (skin) | Tabla, mridangam, pakhawaj, dholak |
| Ghana Vadya | Solid (no skin) | Ghatam, cymbals (manjira), jaltarang |
Instruments and maestros
| Instrument | Maestros |
|---|---|
| Sitar | Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Nikhil Banerjee, Anoushka Shankar |
| Sarod | Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Buddhadev Das Gupta |
| Tabla | Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ustad Alla Rakha, Pt. Kishan Maharaj, Pt. Anindo Chatterjee |
| Shehnai | Ustad Bismillah Khan |
| Santoor | Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Pt. Bhajan Sopori, Rahul Sharma |
| Flute (bansuri) | Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pannalal Ghosh |
| Veena | S. Balachander, E. Gayathri, Asad Ali Khan (rudra veena) |
| Violin | L. Subramaniam, Lalgudi Jayaraman, Dr N. Rajam (Hindustani) |
| Sarangi | Pt. Ram Narayan, Ustad Sultan Khan |
| Mohan veena | Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (Grammy, 1994) |
| Mridangam | Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, Palghat Mani Iyer |
| Ghatam | Vikku Vinayakram (Grammy, 1992) |
| Pakhawaj | Pt. Bhawani Shankar |
| Saxophone (Carnatic) | Kadri Gopalnath |
| Mandolin | U. Srinivas |
| Harmonium | Pt. Tulsidas Borkar |
Musicians honoured with the Bharat Ratna
| Musician | Year | Field |
|---|---|---|
| M.S. Subbulakshmi | 1998 | Carnatic vocal (first musician to get it) |
| Pt. Ravi Shankar | 1999 | Sitar |
| Lata Mangeshkar | 2001 | Playback singing |
| Ustad Bismillah Khan | 2001 | Shehnai |
| Pt. Bhimsen Joshi | 2009 | Hindustani vocal |
| Bhupen Hazarika | 2019 (posthumous) | Music, Assam |
Memory tricks
- “S” for S: Santoor → Shivkumar Sharma.
- Shehnai = Bismillah, the musician who played at the Red Fort on the first Independence Day.
- Grammy duo: Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (mohan veena, 1994) and Vikku Vinayakram (ghatam, 1992).
Exam-ready one-liners
- M.S. Subbulakshmi was the first musician to receive the Bharat Ratna (1998).
- Ustad Bismillah Khan is associated with the shehnai.
- Pt. Shivkumar Sharma is associated with the santoor.
- Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia is associated with the flute.
- Tabla, mridangam and pakhawaj are Avanaddha (membrane) instruments.
Related reading
Quiz: test yourself
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Compiled from standard sources on Indian classical music.
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