Another honour for Abhay Sopori

Abhay Sopori was recently awarded the prestigious J&K State Award,the highest civilian award of the State of Jammu & Kashmir,for the year 2011 in recognition of his outstanding contribution in the field of music. He is the youngest-ever recipient of the honour.

A graduate in Management and Computers with Masters in Music,Abhay was born in Srinagar and inherited music from his fabled Sufiana Gharana of Kashmir –– the exclusive traditional santoor family –– with its roots spanning nine generations over more than 250 years. Abhay learnt music in the traditional Guru-Shishya Parampara from his grandfather Pandit Shamboo Nath Sopori,hailed as the ‘Father of Music’ in Jammu and Kashmir,and from his father Pandit Bhajan Sopori,the legendary santoor maestro and music composer.