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The guy is a monster,” said Zakir Hussain to legendary composer and guitarist John McLaughlin while suggesting he rope in U Shrinivas, a young mandolin player, for their famous world tour of Remembering Shakti in 1999. The super band was looking for a replacement for iconic violinist L Shankar. Shrinivas , in his 20s then, stepped in. He plucked the strings of the mandolin with the quintessence and complications of Carnatic classical system in place, a feat no one had even thought of achieving. He came to be called Mandolin Shrinivas from then on, achieving much success with an instrument not known in the Carnatic system until then. He passed away on Friday, at 45, after a liver transplant failure in Chennai. He was hospitalised at Apollo almost a fortnight ago.
The music world was in mourning after the untimely demise. “It’s a big blow to me personally and to the world of music. For the last 10 days, we were hoping for a miracle to happen. He was way too young to go like this,” said B Kannan, renowned veena player and nephew of Bharatnatayam exponent Padma Subramaniam. He recalls the first time he saw a 10-year-old Shrinivas playing the mandolin at Kanchi Math in Tamil Nadu. “This child was amazing. The word ‘child prodigy’ sort of made more sense after one heard him. He went beyond the scope of that instrument and was globally received. But with so much talent came a lot of humility which is what made him so much different from other musicians. He gets to entertain up there now,” said Kannan.
Growing up in Palakal, Andhra Pradesh, Shrinivas took to his father’s mandolin early. In the years to come he convinced the purists of the Carnatic classical world that a non-Indian instrument like the mandolin could create the gamakas, deliver similar technical prowess and nuances, and give pleasure to the rasikas as any other instrument. This was a feat in itself as violin took over a century to find that status. His tours with Shakti, solo performances and sangaths were equally appreciated especially during the December music season in Chennai, where he played regularly. While the uninitiated enjoyed the novelty his music put out, the connoisseurs loved the deft strokes, the excellent technique and the passion he put in his playing.
M Balamuralikrishna spoke of how Shrinivas was well-known in the entire country as a brilliant musician. “I feel so sorry for this massive loss, I hope god gives strength to his family to deal with this,” he said.
George Harrison, who stumbled upon a Shrinivas album in early 2000s said in an interview, “Eddie van Halen, eat your heart out.” As for the nation’s hearts, they will take a while to get back in tune.
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