Uppalapu 'Mandolin' Srinivas (1969-2014), R.I.P.

Mandolin Srinivas. I knew the name much before I knew what a mandolin was or had come across any of the man’s works. And it was almost always accompanied by “prodigy” or “genius”. I am not sure if it was that or the fascination for Carnatic music on a novelty instrument that took me to his music at a later point in life, but the falling-in-love was instant. I didn’t realise how much though, until last Friday when I felt a deeply personal sense of loss, despite the fact that I have seen the man live only twice and never ever got to meet him in person. In this write-up, I share a few of the songs that made U. Srinivas a dominant entry in my musical pantheon. 

Entha Muddho (Raga Sangamam) 

There are multiple ragas that I have heard first on Srinivas’ mandolin and fallen in love with. Bindumalini (a derivative of the raga Chakravaakam whose Hindustani equivalent is Ahir Bhairav, I have read) is one. The video above is famous for being possibly the only online-available recording of a young Srinivas at work, a testimony to the effortless adeptness he had attained at such an early stage in life.

The version I first heard and fell in love with, though, was a more contemporary adaptation of the same, from his 2002 album Raga Sangamam. While the arrangement is contemporary, what the man plays strictly adheres to the Carnatic format, as he always has in his fusion work. And the icing on the cake is the final three minute segment where Srinivas shifts to ragamalika mode, flitting from one raga to another in a most delightful fashion. I have since then heard multiple other renditions of this song and even other compositions in the raga (Srinivas’s own Ragam Thanam Pallavi from a 1989 AIR performance being one), but return to this one every once in a while.

Entharo Mahanubhaavulu (Trio Mandolin)

After a double-track mandolin album in 1991, Srinivas explored Thyaragaraja’s Pancha Rathna Krithis in this 1992 album using three overlaid mandolin tracks, with KV Prasad on mridangam, TV Vasan on ghatam and V Nagarajan on kanjira. The richer sound imparted by the presence of three layers at varying octaves particularly works for this song (composed in raga Sri) which is my favourite among the five compositions in general.

Giriraja Sutha (Remember Shakti – Saturday Night in Bombay)

A song that remains special for making me a fan of classical fusion, the best bit of the song to me is the jamming between Shankar Mahadevan and Srinivas. “The guy is a monster”, Zakir Hussain is supposed to have said while suggesting Srinivas to John McLaughlin while reviving Shakti about 20 years after the original lineup went dormant. It would have taken no less than a monster to replace someone like L Shankar (sample this), and Srinivas did that job splendidly. I was lucky to catch Remember Shakti live when they came to Bangalore in 2006, and it remains to date one of the best concerts I have attended. It really hurts to think that the band might never perform again. 

Sri Sivasutha (Ilayaraaja’s Classics)

Its title is the only thing that is wrong about the album that contains four classical songs composed by Ilayaraja and played by Srinivas, including one in a raga that Raja invented, called Raajalahari. The track I love the most though is this, one of the very few songs composed in a rare derivative of the Mayamalavagowla raga (Bhairav in Hindustani), called Rukmaambari. Beautiful raga, beautiful rendition.

Basin bridge (Mahaleela)

Sivamani’s debut as a solo composer had some brilliantly done songs. This is one song where he didn’t so well as a composer (the English bit particularly annoys me), but the person who makes it worth listening to is Mandolin Srinivas with his 285 second sprint in brindavani raga. 

Marukelara (Narada Gaana Sabha, Chennai)

The only other live performance of the man I have seen, from the only time I attended the famed Margazhi season of Chennai. Not the best I have heard from Srinivas in that the concert seemed a little too rushed in terms of improvisations around compositions, but it was U. Srinivas after all. And to watch him play with his brother was another item ticked off my musical bucket list. 

Sri Rama Padhama (Raga Sangamam)

Another raga I got introduced to courtesy U. Srinivas (and courtesy the same album Raga Sangamam), Amruthavaahini is a derivative of the raga Natabhairavi. The one I have shared is however from another performance.

Patta patta Boota Boota (The Hindu November Fest, 2007)

To hear Hariharan sing Hindustani is a treat in itself; the man has sung this naat (written by Mir Taqi Mir) on other occasions too. The difference in this case of course being the additional flavour that Srinivas brings in with his trademark style, making it even more special. 

Kaliyuga Varadan (Rama Sreerama)

A rendition from the 1994 album Rama Sreerama, this Periyasamy Thooran-composed work later got used in the soundtrack of the 2010 Julia Roberts movie Eat Pray Love. Not an elaborate portrayal of the brindavan saranga raga, but a delight to listen to nevertheless. 

The above list is but a tip of the proverbial iceberg, a career that spanned over 30 years at such a monumental level can hardly be done justice to in a list like this. The fact that people feel there could have been much more from him despite such an impressive repertoire says enough about the impact his music had.

UK-based Vipin Nair is a co-founder of MusicAloud.com where he writes music reviews and other music-related things.