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U. Shrinivas and Selva Ganesh are comfortable in classical and fusion music as well
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Rooted firmly in music — Photo: K. Gajendran
AT FIRST sight their style of dressing (jeans and cargos - one even sports a tuft) may perhaps jolt you a bit. For one is accustomed to seeing them in crisp cotton dhotis and kurtas on stage. Yet they exude a cool Gen-X look dressed the way they are along with their shades and cell phones. It's a case of East meeting West. When they start talking their firm grounding in classical music comes to the fore. As classical musicians they have created a space for themselves. U. Shrinivas (famous as Mandolin Shrinivas) and Selva Ganesh (son of the ghatam maestro Vikku Vinayakram who plays the kanjira) are now on the path of fusion and world music as well.
Ever since he arrived as a child prodigy Shrinivas (born in Palakol in Andhra Pradesh but shifted to Chennai) has been through the musician's life - it's been concerts and more concerts. "I got to see Disneyland at the age of 12. From my childhood I have loved music and music is everything to me," says the mandolin maestro. "I have been lucky since childhood as I got an opportunity to play with vidwans and living legends. I was appointed as Kanchi Kamakoti Asthana vidwan by the Tamil Nadu Government at the age of 13. I was also the first Indian musician to play a classical solo at the Olympics in Barcelona."
Srinivas has ensured a concert-level status to the mandolin with some variations. He has silenced all criticism about the instrument with his dexterous play. "There are no limitations and one can do any wonders with this instrument."
Selva Ganesh did not feel the pressure of learning too. He has also learnt the mridangam and ghatam besides the kanjira. "Music is divine, if you take any kriti it's all about the god, music is given by god, you have to have bhakti," says Selva Ganesh, who reiterates that "music is universal and it does not require a language."
More and more classical musicians are now venturing into fusion. "Having a firm base in the classical helps. It offers a lot of scope," says Srinivas who along with Selva Ganesh is now part of the group `Remembering Shakti'. (Shakti was popular in the Seventies. `Remembering Shakti' has John Mc Laughlin and Zakir Hussain from the original group). "This was formed around 1999 and we have been touring many countries. The album Shakti 2002 was nominated for Grammy," says Srinivas.
"There is a lot of spontaneity in fusion. It's not jamming. It's good to know how to vibe. The mindset is important. Percussion is calculation based and therefore it is easy to relate and merge with other percussion musicians," says Selva Ganesh, who has grown up listening to his father playing with Shakti. The duo is also planning to form a new group along with Shankar Mahadevan and Sivamani.
Vinayakram and Zakir Hussain have made quite a difference to Selva Ganesh. "I have learnt how to be simple as a human being from my father. Zakir Hussain is a role model. One can learn how to be on stage and merge with other percussion players from him."
Shrinivas and his brother are busy with the institution Shrinivas Institute of World Music where music (instrumental) is taught to children right from a young age. Shrinivas is an ideal role model for youngsters and he is the youngest musician to receive the Padma Shri.
Both Shrinivas and Selva Ganesh are riding the crest wave of success and laurels. May their simplicity and humility stand them in good stead as they continue to surge ahead in music.
RADHIKA RAJAMANI
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