Bhajan Sopori Biography 
Pundit Bhajan Sopori is an Indian instrumentalist. He is a player of the santoor, an ancient stringed musical instrument. He was born in 1948 in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. Pundit Bhajan Sopori is an expert on Indian instrument santoor which is a traditional ancient stringed musical instrument.
Bhajan Sopori belongs to Sopore in Kashmir Valley and traces his lineage to ancient Santoor experts. Bhajan represents the Sufiana Gharana of Indian classical music. Bhajan is proud to be the member of a family which has played this instrument for last six generations.
Bhajan had the honor of presenting his first public performance at the age of 10 at a conference organised by Prayag Sangeet Samiti and the University of Allahabad. Bhajan Sopori's son Abhay Rustum Sopori is also a santoor player who plays santoor in combination with his father. The Father and son duo have given several performances together.
Pandit Bhajan Sopori has been teaching instrumnetal music at Washington University in the United States. Pundit Sopuri has also been performing in India and in countries including such as Belgium, Egypt, England, Germany, Norway, Syria and the USA.
Bhajan Sopori has been awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1993 and the Padma Shri in 2004. He was honoured with the Baba Allaudin Khan Award in 2009. Bhajan Sopori was also awarded the M. N. Mathur award for his great contribution to Indian classical music in 2011.
Pandit Bhajan Sopori is a great cultural ambassador and an important link in between Kashmir and rest of India. Pundit Sopori also runs a music academy Sopori Academy for Music and Performing Arts which is actively involved in promoting Indian classical music. SaMaPa as his institute is popularly known has trained several musicians and revived old instruments. The Institute was given the J&K state government Dogri award in 2011.
Published: N/A
Updated: November 05, 2015
