Rahul Sharma

Rahul Sharma is a Hindustani santoor player and composer, born in Mumbai in 1972 into the family of the santoor master Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, who was both his father and his guru. He began on the harmonium and only switched to the santoor at the age of 13, learning it from his father once he had grounded himself in the melodic fundamentals of Hindustani music. After studying economics in Mumbai he turned to music full time, and at 24 he started accompanying his father in concert, touring the world with him many times and recording several albums together. He has released more than 60 albums, split roughly evenly between classical and experimental recordings, and like his father he became known for santoor and tabla duets with Ustad Zakir Hussain. Away from the classical repertoire he has worked with pianist Richard Clayderman on the two Confluence albums, with the French world-music project Deep Forest on Deep India, and with saxophonist Kenny G on Namaste, whose title track reached No. 2 on the Billboard world chart. He composed for the 2002 film Mujhse Dosti Karoge! and for the 2021 series Ramyug, has recorded with traditional Kashmiri musicians, and is an advocate for animal rights.