For centuries, the Santoor has been played in the Valley of Kashmir in the typical style of music known as ‘Sufiyana Mausiqi’, as an accompanying instrument with vocalists and sometimes as solos too. It was originally known as the ‘Shata Tantri Veena’, which means a lute with 100 strings. The name Santoor was given by the Persians. Similar instruments are found all over the world- the ‘Santoor' in Iran, ‘Yang Chin’ in China, ‘Çimbalom’ in Hungary and Romania, ‘Santoori’ in Greece, ‘HackBret’ in Germany, and the‘Hammered Delcimer’ in European countries and America. 

Unlike all other instruments, the Santoor has an unusual trapezoid shape. The strings are mounted on the bridges in sets of 3. Dilip’s instrument has 31 bridges with 91 strings. The Santoor is played with a pair of strikers (curved sticks) made of walnut wood. It produces a variety of lively tonal effects reminiscent of the Piano or the Harp. 

Dilip’s Guru, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma introduced and presented the Santoor, a new instrument to Indian classical music singlehandedly in its present form.  He developed a rendering style, unique to the Santoor, to unfold its ‘baaj’. In the absence of prior knowledge of playing the Santoor, he developed compositions to enhance the characteristic nature of the Santoor by blending melody and rhythm leading to the ‘layakari’, a signature style of his own. In the hands of Guruji, the Santoor takes on a wide range of expressions leading to its acceptance as a solo instrument.