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ShareSRINAGAR: He's tired of his favourite place Kashmir being projected as a "battle-ridden, militancy-infested place that is too dangerous to live in". Hence, 25-year old santoor maestro Abhay Rustam Sopori, a Kashmiri pandit, has taken a pledge to break the stereotype and project Khushall (happy and prosperous) Kashmir though a music video, to be aired on television channels soon.
Sopori, son of legendary santoor maestro and music composer Pt Bhajan Sopori, is working towards taking away the pain and misery from Kashmir through his music.
"Shameema Azad, the wife of chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, is the lead singer of this music video. She will be singing in Kashmiri and I will be singing in Hindustani language. It is a bi-lingual song aimed at focusing Kashmir as a paradise on earth, free from pain and miseries," Abhay, who has conceived the video, told DNA from his Delhi home.
One of the youngest santoor players in the country, Abhay has learnt instrumental and vocal music from his grandfather Pandit Shamboo Nath Sopori, who was hailed as the 'Father of Indian Classical Music' in the Valley.
Abhay has made some innovations in his santoor by introducing the 'Open String concept' to boost the lower octave of the instrument. He has also designed and introduced a '30-stringed' instrument and named it 'Sur Santoor'.
The music video is the second one produced by Sopori Academy of Music And Performing Arts (SaMaPa). The academy recently came up with a song 'Aao Kadam Badhayain' to appeal for donations for Kashmir earthquake victims.
"The song has been the greatest hit in the history of Jammu and Kashmir and has been telecast on many channels. We have come to know that after the song hit the screens the donations have increased significantly in the state," said the maestro.
