Mandolin U. Shrinivas would have turned 46 tomorrow. SS International Live and The Hindu present a musical homage to the wizard.
What began as a plan for a simple event is turning out to be something bigger, better. ‘The Great MANdolin’ will see a galaxy of musical stars take The Music Academy stage to celebrate the genius of Mandolin Shrinivas. As Shankar Mahadevan says, “It will not be about us. It is sharing our love for him, an emotional moment.”
Shrinivas’s family was keen on marking February 28 with a musical tribute, most appropriately so. So, they approached SS International Live to put together a programme. A galaxy of musical stars will take The Music Academy stage on February 28 , 7 p.m., to pay tribute to the man and his mesmeric music. It will be called ‘The Great MANdolin.’
The mega-concert, organised by SS International Live in association with The Hindu, will bring together musical forces such as Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, Vikku Vinayakram, Aruna Sairam, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Anil Srinivasan, Stephen Devassey, U. Rajesh, Harmeet, Selvaganesh, Uma Shankar, Karthik, Kunal Ganjawala, Takahiro Arai, Sivamani, Ranjit Barot and Devi Sri Prasad. Gracing the occasion as chief guests are maestro Ilaiyaraja and actor Kamal Hassan. The guest of honour is N. Murali, president, The Music Academy. And the show is being strung together by Shrinivas’s two disciples, brother Rajesh and music director Devi Sri Prasad.
Singer Shankar Mahadevan remembers: “A few days ago, Zakir Hussain had organised the barsi (annual ceremony) for his father, Ustad Alla Rakha. Several great musicians had gathered at Shanmukhananda Hall, Mumbai. At one point, we were all looking expectantly at the door, waiting for Shrinivas to walk in with his mandolin, that lovely smile on his face and asking me, “Ji, vada pav, please!” The loss hit us once again. I think of him especially when I hear ‘Girirajasudha’. We used to play that kriti at a fast pace but somehow it felt incomplete without chittaswaras. So, during a six-hour flight across the U.S. coast, he sat and composed the chittaswaras on the flight, which we recorded on our mobiles. When we landed, we played it to our band, and that’s how the extended version of the Tyagaraja kriti came to be. Only he could have done that! Even a simple ‘sa’ sounded so different when he played it. Truly, his music resonates with God.”
Drummer Sivamani recalls Shrinivas as a nine-year-old, shy, but with sparkling eyes. “He played a lot for my solos in the initial years. And as our friendship grew, so did his stature as a musician. But he remained down-to-earth till the end. Every time we played together, it was a deeply spiritual experience for me. When I was made the Asthana Vidwan of the Kanchi Math, he accompanied me to Kanchipuram and played with me. And then he took me to Varanasi, where percussion is not played at festivals. I hardly had time to set my instruments when he began playing. I joined in. By the end of the concert, we saw many moist eyes in the audience. Another truly divine experience!”
Pianist Anil Srinivasan has too many memories of the times he spent with the mandolin whizkid. But one aspect he remembers vividly is what Anil calls ‘his excess music.’ “We would be having the most mundane of conversations, like has the petrol been filled or has that person called. But his fingers will be moving at break-neck speed on the mandolin. If you listen carefully, you could discover 300 different brilliant ideas there! It was as if his fingers had a mind of their own. His fingers oozed music, in that sense; it was as if he had to exhaust a certain number of notes that day. It was a sight to behold, really!”
Talking about the event, Elango Kumanan, director of SS International Live, says, “This is the first time so many greats from the world of music will come together and share their love for Shrinivas and his evergreen mandolin strains. Imagine, an artist of the calibre of Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma just called to say he wanted to be included. It is overwhelming, humbling even, when you realise the kind of person the mandolin wizard was, and how many hearts he touched.”
Says, Kumanan, “On the occasion, SIOWM, a trust started by U. Shrinivas, will honour a senior and a junior artist with a cash award of Rs.1 lakh and Rs. 50,000 respectively. Also, we will distribute a memoir on the life and times of Shrinivas to patrons and screen an audio visual on his life.”
