Child prodigy-turned master musician Mandolin U. Shrinivas (45) passed away at 9 a.m. at a private hospital in the city on Friday following a lung infection. He had been ailing for some time and had recently undergone a liver transplant.
Mandolin Shrinivas, as he came to be known, was reportedly being treated for liver failure at the Apollo Hospital. Although a man of clean habits, friends told The Hindu that he and had ignored an infection for a long while.
> Pay your tributes to Mandolin U. Shrinivas here
Hailing from Palakol in Andhra Pradesh, Uppalapu Shrinivas, born on February 28, 1969, showed an uncanny interest in his father Sathyanarayana's mandolin at a very young age. He stormed the Carnatic music scene with his first public performance in 1978 and since then there was no looking back.
Known for having adapted a difficult electric western instrument to the Carnatic stage with awe-inspiring success, Shrinivas impressed pundits and lay listeners alike. He was the recipient of prestigious awards such as the Padma Shri and the Sangeet Natak Akademi award.
Apart from traditional Carnatic concerts, Shrinivas was a favourite with other well-known global artistes such as John McLaughlin, Michael Nyman and Michael Brook. His familiarity with crossover genres made him an automatic choice. He distinguished himself in collaborations with artistes of the calibre of Zakir Hussain, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Sivamani, Vikku Vinaykram and Dominique Piazza.
Shrinivas is survived by his parents, brother Mandolin U. Rajesh and sisters.
Emotionally shaken to hear of Carnatic shining star Mandolin Shrinivasji's demise... May God bless him with happiness in the next world...
— A.R.Rahman (@arrahman) >September 19, 2014 RIP, >#MandolinSrinivas . The unfairness of this, sucks big time. But yea, RIP.
— suchitra karthik (@singersuchi) >September 19, 2014Life is cruel.. Mandolin U Srinivas, the genius dies at a young age, when he had much more to offer to music .. RIP
— Srinivas singer (@singersrinivas) >September 19, 2014>#RIP Mandolin LEGEND U Srinivas Sir. A name synonymous with the instrument, there is no other higher tribute to the humble genius!
— Rahul Nambiar (@RahulNOfficial) >September 19, 2014 U Shrinivas. The boy touched by God. Irreparable. Irreplaceable. >#MandolinSrinivas
— Karthik Kumar (@evamkarthik) >September 19, 2014 The legendary genius Mandolin U Srinivas is no more! Great loss to the world of Carnatic music! RIP! >@srirambts>@sanjaysub
— Veejay Sai (@veejaysai) >September 19, 2014
Music historian V. Sriram adds:
It is not often that it is given to someone to introduce a new instrument into a traditional art such as Carnatic Music and yet be welcomed with open arms. The violin took over a century to become mainstream. Mandolin U Shrinivas a sensation. His debut in Madras as a cherubic youngster in the 1980s was phenomenal. The first performance was at the Indian Fine Arts Society closely followed by one at the Sri Krishna Gana Sabha where even veterans such as Semmangudi praised him. He became a star and remained one, taking the mandolin to unforeseen heights.
And yet, in his dealings with people he was humility personified. That he should have passed away when the greatest of honours were yet to come his way only shows that we as music lovers are an unfortunate lot. Truly those whom the Gods love die young.
Arusuvai Arasu N. Natarajan , speaking at Shrinivas' residence, said: "It is a huge loss to the music world. I have known him since he was five and seen him play since then. Who can play the Mandolin like him? He always had the blessings of Kanchi Paramacharya."
Play back singer Shankar Mahadevan tweeted: "A big part of my musical journey ended today with U Srinivas .. Devastated."
Lalgudi G.J.R. Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi , Carnatic violinists and children of violin maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman, reacting to the death of Shrinivas, said:
When we talk of geniuses who mastered different instruments in Carnatic music, we rarely come across one like Shrinivas.
He has the singular achievement of having introduced a western instrument, the mandolin, into the repertoire of Carnatic Music and being a musical genius, both at once.
The innovations that he introduced in playing the instrument and his mastery over the instrument have earned him a unique place in the world of Carnatic music. Having occupied the performance stage as a prodigy at a very young age, Shrinivas was a pioneer who took our music to many prestigious arenas & festivals across the world .
Endowed with sensitive aesthetics & a keen sense of rhythm, this gentle colossus was shining bright as an artiste endowed with a rich repertoire as well as a composer.
He shared a special relationship with both us and our guru Lalgudi Jayaraman. No New Year day would dawn without a phone call from him to exchange greetings with us and take our father's blessings. He was an ardent fan of our guru and most of his concerts would have at least one composition by him.
Once while stepping into the elevator of a restaurant we were taken by surprise by the sweet strains of Shrinivas' playing our guru's Yamunakalyani tillana. With a smile our guru stood there listening to this, not minding the elevator close and move to the next floor.
The ever-smiling, humble, and exemplary human being with amazing energy will be missed by fans all over the world.
In his passing away Carnatic music has lost an important ambassador and personally we have lost a dear friend and valuable artist whom we admired not only for his art but also for the person he hadbeen. May his soul rest in peace.
Noted playback singer S.P.Balasubrahmanyam said Shrinivas had elevated Indian classical music to an “universal level.”
Sharing his thoughts on his Facebook page, Mr. Balasubrahmanyam, popularly known as SPB, said he was sad and shocked to hear the news of Shrinivas’s demise. He recalled his first meeting with him at Gemini Studios in 1980 where he was doing the background score for ‘Hum Paanch’ directed by Telugu director Bapu who passed away recently.
“Music director Vasu Rao, then a bass guitar player brought a 11-year-old boy from Andhra Pradesh. On my request, he played a song from ‘Sankaraabharanam.’ I was amazed at the perfection with which he played all the gamakas on the instrument,” SPB recalled. SPB said he sang the theme song of the film a couple of times and Shrinivas played it to perfection. Boney Kapoor, producer of the film, paid Rs. 175 to Shrinivas, Rs.100 more than the remuneration for a mandolin player at that time.
SPB further shared that Shrinivas had told him he did not learn music ‘theoretically’ and that he wanted to come to Chennai to learn classical music. Once Shrinivas performed a concert at his cousin’s wedding, charging only the incidental expenses.
“A very nice person, even when he saw me at airport, railway station or even a restaurant, he used to prostrate before me without any inhibition. Great soul,” SPB said and prayed that his great soul should rest in peace.
Carnatic musicians Ranjani and Gayatri said Shrinivas's demise has thrown the music fraternity into grief. Ranjani said, "I saw him perform at the age of 13 amidst legends. That performance of Shrinivas is still ringing in my ears."
Gayatri said, "His music has given us so much happiness. His loss is irreplaceable."
> Pay your tributes to Mandolin U. Shrinivas here
*The report has been edited for a factual error
Published - September 19, 2014 10:35 am IST
