MUMBAI: Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and Zakhir Hussian are all set to perform at Mumbai for a charity organisation called Anandamayi Ma Trust. The money collected from the concert will be spent on the education of the children of the trust. Actress Juhi Chawla will be anchoring the concert.

"It is always a privilege to perform for charity and we are happy that our art is been utilised for a great cause," said Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma. Commenting on the classical music scene in India today, the 76 year old musician said, "I am happy that more and more youngsters are attending classical concerts today. 30 years back classical music was heard only by people above the age of 40. But today even a 20 year old loves attending a classical concert, despite the media not reporting much about it."

According to him, it is important to create a good listener base, which is why classical music should be part of school curriculums. When asked what it takes to be a great artiste, according to him, he said, "To be a good artiste, one needs to possess three things. One- he/she needs to be blessed with some talent. Two- hard work and discipline are essential and lastly he or she should not get carried away by praises or criticism."

Not many youngsters wish to learn a complicated instrument like santoor. "For learning santoor you need a good teacher because not every good performer can be a good teacher. Also, the santoor has so many chords and that makes it even more difficult for anyone to learn it," he asserted.

The charity concert will be held on 15 January 2015 at 7 p.m. at the Nehru Planetarium, Worli.