Santoor maestro Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma gets Kala Shikhar award

Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma has been honoured with the Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Shikhar Award for lifetime achievement.
Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao presented the award to 77-year-old Sharma here last evening.
He also presented the Kala Kiran Awards to Murad Ali Khan (Sarangi), Satyajit Talwalkar (Tabla) and Special Jury Award to Sanjeev and Ashwani Shankar (both Shehnai).
Birla Group Director Rajashree Birla and Honorary Secretary of Sangit Kala Kendra, Lalit Daga, were present at the event.
The Kala Shikhar award was instituted by the Sangit Kala Kendra, headed by Rajashree Birla, a Raj Bhavan release said.
Noted personalities like Lata Mangeshkar, Pt Bhimsen Joshi, Pt Jasraj, Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pt Ram Narayan, MF Hussain, Habib Tanvir, Gangubai Hangal and Dr Girija Devi are some of the past recipients of the award.

The Sangit Kala Kendra was founded by late industrialist Aditya Vikram Birla in 1973 to encourage and nurture the various visual and performing arts. The awards were instituted in 1996.