Bhajan Sopori, a maestro of the Sufiana gharana, was a famous player of which instrument?

Explanation

Pandit Bhajan Sopori (1948-2022) was one of the greatest santoor players of India. He belonged to the Sufiana gharana of Kashmir, and he was known as the "Saint of the Santoor" and the "King of Strings".

Bhajan Sopori was born in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, into a family of santoor players. His family had played the santoor for several generations, and he learnt the instrument from his grandfather, Pandit Samsar Chand Sopori, and his father, Pandit Shamboo Nath Sopori. The Sufiana gharana takes its name from Sufiana Kalam (or Sufiana Mausiqi), the classical Sufi music of Kashmir, in which the santoor has been used for centuries. Bhajan Sopori gave his first public performance at the age of five. He is credited with developing the santoor as an instrument of Hindustani classical music, and with creating new techniques of playing it. He also composed music for many songs, including patriotic songs and songs promoting peace and harmony. He founded SaMaPa (Sopori Academy of Music and Performing Arts) in Delhi, to teach music to young people, especially in Jammu and Kashmir. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1992) and the Padma Shri (2004). He died in Gurugram on 2 June 2022. His son, Abhay Rustum Sopori, is also a santoor player.

The santoor is a trapezoid-shaped box zither with about 100 strings, which are struck with a pair of light wooden mallets. It was traditionally a folk instrument of Kashmir. Other famous santoor players include Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Tarun Bhattacharya and Rahul Sharma.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Sarod is linked with Amjad Ali Khan.
• ✗Sitar is linked with Ravi Shankar.
• ✗Rudra veena is linked with the Dagar family and Ustad Asad Ali Khan.