Sri Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira is bringing a rare event on stage on June 15. Senior Malladi Suribabu would be accompanied by his sons, known as the Malladi Brothers, Sriramprasad and Ravikumar. “It’s unusual for the three of us to be on stage together, but at home we often discuss, sing and breathe music,” says Mr. Suribabu, a retired AIR employee.
Mr. Suribabu joined the AIR in 1970 as a programme announcer. Once, while singing at the AIR studios at Vijayawada, the doyen of Carnatic music, Voleti Venkateswarlu got curious about “the fresh voice” and later advised Mr. Suribabu to take up Carnatic music seriously. Although Suribabu’s classes started with Voleti’s Sangeetha Shikshana programmes on AIR, his father, Malladi Sriramamurthi initiated him into music. “For 22 years, Voleti, who was a creative genius in the raga and the swara taught me,” recalls Mr. Suribabu. He remarks that the Hindustani flourishes acquired by the Malladi schooling is because of Voleti’s inventiveness How would the father and sons balance their styles on stage, as Suribabu has been schooled by Voleti and the Malladi Brothers learnt music under Nedanuri’s tutelage? “Both gurus were students of the ace Dr. Pinaakapaani, so the school of thought remains the same,” says Mr. Suribabu.
