U Srinivas: And the mandolin falls silent...

“The word mandolin doesn’t make sense anymore to me,” an overwhelmed composer-vocalist Shankar Mahdevan told dna. He was reacting to the tragic death of Uppalappu Srinivas, 45, whose mandolin stole millions of hearts. In fact, his death has left music lovers and the music fraternity in shock. Srinivas was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Chennai for a severe liver problem. Following a transplant procedure he had been showing signs of progress. His fans who had hailed this good news, were in for a saddening blow in his passing away.

“How do you come to terms with the loss of someone who you have performed with in over hundred concerts over more than 12 years? This association was like that of a family. We could tell each other anything and kept each other in splits,” reminisced Mahadevan who underlined. “Yet his seriousness towards his musicality was such that even if you had played a particular raga several times with him and felt you know all the twists and turns he’d take, he’d still surprise you.”     

Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain who had jammed with Srinivas at several concerts also called the loss “devastating.” He said, “He was one of India’s most talented musicians and often revived forgotten ragas which many avoid picking up because of the intricacies involved. For him it would be a challenge,” and added, “It was such an honour to share the stage with him at some of the prestigious venues across the country and the world. His going away is an irreplaceable loss to mankind and music.”

Others like flautist-legend Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia too echoed the tabla maestro. “He was specially blessed with a divine musiciality. How many others instrumentalists have the instrument they play become part of their name?” he said on phone from San Francisco, US where he’s gone to perform at a concert. “I feel so horrible about the way a young artiste of such calibre was snatched away. You know he never drank or smoked. He lived such a spartan life. Wonder why destiny was so hard on him?”

According to Chaurasia, Mandolin Srinivas was very modest despite his musical acumen and fan following. “The ease with which he adapted and collaborated with western artistes like Michael Brook, John McLaughlin, Nigel Kennedy, and Michael Neeman was amazing.”

Senior music-lover from Chennai Ravi Rajgopalan, 68, who was a family friend and regular at Srinivas’ concerts was having difficulty coming to terms with the news of his demise. “Why was he in such a hurry all the time? He picked up playing his father Satyanarayana's mandolin when he was only six, at an age when other children are grappling with toys. He performed at a public concert three years later and followed this up in another three years by taking the Madras Music Season for the Indian Fine Arts Society by storm.” He also recounted how he didn’t allow his marriage at a young age, quick fatherhood and the painful divorce which followed in a few years to get in the way of his music,” and broke down weeping, “And now he just gets up and leaves from the concert of life mid-way like this.. Where was the hurry?”

The much feted maestro, credited with giving mandolin - a western instrument - a permanent status in the Carnatic music, had represented India at the JazzFest Berlin and later toured Canada, Australia and many other countries to much applause when only 14. So much so that in a year, then Tamil Nadu CM M G Ramachandran, appointed him official musician of the state. A Padma Shri at 19, he was conferred the Sangeet Natak Academy Award in little over a decade. He was also the recipient of the prestigious Sangeeta Ratna, Kalaimamani among other awards.

'Born once in many centuries'

Santoor maestro Satish Vyas said he was shocked and speechless. “Absolutely shocked and speechless on hearing of the sad demise of Mandolin maestro U Srinivas. He was like a younger brother to me. He was a true legend. Very rarely is such a musician born who has an exceptional ability to sway millions of fans keeping traditional music in tact. A musician like Srinivas is born once in many centuries,” he said.

Composer AR Rehman, on the other hand, said: “Emotionally shaken to hear of Carnatic shining star Mandolin Srinivasji's demise... May God bless him with happiness in the next world... 

Ehsaan Noorani also expressed his condolences saying, "U Srinivas was one of the finest musicians ever... a true Earth Angel has left us for his journey skyward... He will be sorely missed."