Bhopal: Jugalbandi of musicians Shiv-Hari at Bharat Bhavan on May 15

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Bhopalites will witness the live concert of music maestros Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasia at Bahirang, an open auditorium of Bharat Bhavan under ‘Mahima Samaroh’ on May 15.

The Jugalbandi of the legendary musicians will be held at the Bhavan as well as in Bhopal after a gap of eight years, says chief administrative officer of the Bhavan Premshankar Shukla. Earlier, they performed on the foundation day of the Bhavan in 2014. “We have got the consent from both the musicians for the event,” he added.

Pt. Shivkumar Sharma from Jammu is credited with making the santoor a popular classical instrument. He composed the background music for one of the scenes in Shantaram's film Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje in 1956. He recorded his first solo album in 1960. In 1967, he teamed up with flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia and guitarist Brij Bhushan Kabra to produce a concept album, Call of the Valley (1967), which turned out to be one of Indian classical music's greatest hits.

Further, he composed music for many Hindi films in collaboration with Hariprasad Chaurasia, starting with Silsila in 1980. They came to be known as the Shiv-Hari music duo. Some of the movies they composed music for were musical hits, such as Faasle (1985), Chandni (1989), Lamhe (1991), and Darr (1993).

Sharma is the recipient of national and international awards, including an honorary citizenship of the city of Baltimore, USA, in 1985, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1986, the Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.

Hariprasad Chaurasia is a music director and classical flautist, who plays the flute, in the Hindustani classical tradition. The 2013 documentary film Bansuri Guru features the life and legacy of Chaurasia and was directed by the musician's son Rajeev Chaurasia and produced by the Films Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Chaurasia has been feted with various prestigious awards including Sangeet Natak Academy (1984), Padma Bhushan (1992) and Padma Vibhushan (2000).

Earlier, Kishori Amonkar (2013) and Zakir Hussain (2019) had performed under the Mahima Samaroh, Shukla added.