Recollecting his first memory of Mandolin U. Shrinivas, renowned music director Ilayaraja recalled a 12-year-old child prodigy who came to his studio with his father, U. Satyanarayana, to join his troupe.
“When I heard him play, I realised that he would become a great musician and refused to accept him in my troupe,” Mr. Ilayaraja said, adding that he had planned to compose music for a movie with only the mandolin’s music in the background, but Mr. Shrinivas passed away before he could realise his dream.
“We feel his loss acutely and the space he occupied in the world of music will remain empty,” Mr. Ilayaraja said, speaking at a tribute to Mandolin U. Shrinivas at Music Academy on Saturday.
Actor Kamal Haasan, in his tribute, said, “When one hears that a person has 35 years experience, we assume he is an old man. People wanted him to live longer, but Shrinivas died young,” he said.
A concert, titled the Great MANdolin, organised by SS International Live in association with The Hindu , featured leading musicians who paid homage to the mandolin player on the occasion of his 46{+t}{+h}birth anniversary. N. Murali, co-chairman, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., was also present.
Aruna Sairam, drummer Sivamani, Stephen Devassy, Kunal Ganjawala, Anil Srinivasan, Devi Sri Prasad and Selva Ganesh gave their performances. An award was instituted through the SIOWM (Shrinivas Institute Of World Music) Trust, started by U. Shrinivas, to honour a senior and a junior artiste with a cash award of Rs.1 lakh and Rs. 50,000 respectively. Percussionist Vikku Vinayakam and pianist Harneet received the awards.
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