Nobody like Mandolin Srinivas

 Most musical geniuses peak at age 44 and with the exception of Mozart and a few others, many go on to cut more discs in their fifties. It is therefore shocking to hear U.Srinivas pass out at the peak of his prowess. I know of few other instrumentalists in the world whose surname is synonymous with the instrument they play with. You won't call Sax KennyG or Tabla Hussain or Violin Subramanyam or even Shehnai Khan or Piano Beethoven. But you will always know this prodigy as Mandolin Srinivas. He brought so much joy and veneer to an instrument which was actually shunned by both Hindustani and Karnatik musicians simply because it was either too simple or too complex - until you heard Mandolin being played by the butter-fingers of U.Srinivas. For those who had the luxury of watching him play the instrument, he released rare joy and energy into the ether when he played the Hamsadhwani or any other Karnatik raga.   

Mandolin was thought of as a western musical instrument such that the instrument was brought into the Karnatik fold only in the 1980s. This is because the bare instrument was beyond the scope of those who tried to navigate the strings for melodic movement. Before U.Srinivas, there was a film composer Sajid Hussain who tried to bring the magic of Mandolin into films. The great Blapu who died recently, used fifteen minutes of one of his compositions in the film "Muthyala Muggu" as a BGM for showing the consummation of a newly wed couple. He tried to use another piece in "Gorintha Deepam" by which Sajid Hussain became famously known in Tollywood too. 

However, the instrument required huge maneuvrability to produce the sounds that come easily in other stringed instruments like the violin or the Sitar - the most mellifluous of classical musical instruments where the semitones (the inter-frequency between each sound) are quick and continuous which expand the range of output. Mandolin had its limitations that got tweaked when it became an electric mandolin similar to an electric guitar - that was the stage on which U.Srinivas launched himself giving one performance after another performance winning plaudits and patronage from kingly sponsors. 

Though he started off with classical concerts playing at every world stage from Berlin to NY to the Asia-Pacific, Mandolin became renowned as an instrument that deserves attention and glory amidst the paraphernalia that musicians and orchestras carry. It was embraced in Karnatik music because of the electric mandolin's ability to create and sustain continuity of sounds  - like the violin or the sitar. Indians have finally thrown up another great instrumentalist - in the same tradition of world-renown as that of a Sarod, Veena, Violin, Sitar or Santoor. Mandolin Srinivas has given scores of concerts in his career, giving many jugalbandis with the other legends. One of his moments of crowning glory came not with a Padma Shri or a doctorate but an invitation to be part of "Shakti" band - which is the gold standard for fusion music combining the reigning greats of the day  - John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussian, L Shankar, Vikku Vinaykram. Mandolin proved to be a good addition to the ensemble of the best percussionists and stringed instrument players of the day. The brand "Shakti" created some electrifying music but later diluted itself further by calling a vocalist called Shankar Mahadevan. Shankar Mahadevan's addition proved inimical to the purity maintained by the Shakti group. But that's besides the matter.

Mandolin Srinivas played with his younger brother U.Rajesh and gave him good recognition and respected the Karnatik music traditions. It is both stress-busting and mesmerising to listen to U.Srinivas. He composed many different versions of the leading ragas and also tried to re-emphasize the versatility of Mandolin to play film tunes. One of the albums that I have is a rendition of Ilayaraja music on Mandolin, an absolute treat. Except for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and AR Rahman in Bollywood, haven't heard many music directors use Mandolin in their BGMs or songs. But in South, KV Mahadevan, MS Vishwanathan, Vidyasagar, Mani Sharma, Mickey J Meyer and SS Thamman have embellished their sounds with strategic and selective use of Mandolin. The key to getting Mandolin enhance the feel and tonality of your music is to use it a pre-note or in the interlude - and you can see why all the music directors I referred to have used it as aptly. Where does Mandolin Srinivas's legacy go? As long as Mandolin is played, U.Srinivas will live on. It is fitting that the instrument lends its name to a legend who made it world-famous. Or poetic that Srinivas got his name surnamed as Mandolin because that is what gave him identity and immortality. All Maestros have expiry date but Mandolin Srinivas lives on.

#Mandolin #MandolinSrinivas #USrinivas #Shakti #ClassicalMusic

Pandit Ravi Shankar - When the Sitar fell silent.

Pandit Ravi Shankar’s life was epoch-making till the very end. He was born in Benares – the holiest of the cities and passed away at 92 in North America which now celebrates his brand of music as Indian Classical Music – nobody else exists in their eyes. Ravi Shankar has mesmerized audiences across the globe with his iconic mastery of Sitar; when he played, Sitar sounds so sonorific and fluid. It inspired many who became legends in our own times like George Harrison, daughter Anoushka Ravishankar and the splendid Prem Joshua. My own friend Ram Vakkalanka who is now settled in Canada is an accomplished Sitarist who trained under one of the Master’s direct disciples.

He was awarded every progressive award possible in the planet of music and arts – the Grammys, Oscar nominations, fourteen Doctorates, highest civilian awards in France and India. Not many musicians who are contemporaries of Pandit Ravi Shankar received the Padmas in run up to the ultimate coronation in India – Bharat Ratna. Pandit Ravi Shankar understood what the audiences wanted – whether in India, Eurasia, Far East or the opera-hungry West. That he could inspire the icons of a generation like Beatles speaks of the universal appeal of his music. My first impressions of listening to Pandit Ravi Shankar was on DD channels where he played in France, in opening game ceremonies and in famous performances at International conclaves. And then came the film “Gandhi” where I learnt Ravi Shankar scored the BGM and the songs (the few that were shown in the end). Whether it was the march of the British to prevent the Salt Satyagrahis or that haunting melody for over 13 minutes when young Gandhi travels across the country in the train where he sees everything from poverty to peasantry – those visuals were powerfully enriched by the Maestro’s outstanding music. Those days, BGMs were hard to  get so I used to record the OSTs on audio cassettes whenever “Gandhi” was aired on DD. I still get ecstatic when I listen to the music scored by Pt.Ravi Shankar. He used the right mix of melodies and orchestration as demanded in a film of that stature. It was mostly unique and Indian, and yet had the aura that anybody else would have floundered for Richard Attenborough. Even Gandhi would  have been proud of “Gandhi”’s music by  Ravi Shankar.

I always felt that Ravi Shankar had the right grasp of Indian Classical Music to embellish it further with his feel for what can blend well with Western Classical Music. He can be minimalist, subtle and classy at the same time while making the audience clamor for more. While “Gandhi” may be his finest hour in scoring BGM, he was also the natural choice for the Apu Trilogy of Satyajit Ray. The title theme for Apu in “Pather Panchali” that says it all in less than 90 seconds is one of the most memorable themes in Indian celluloid. In those days, it had the class of some of the Western masters in making a theme stick forever. Of course, Satyajit Ray never engaged Ravi Shankar after the trilogy but he had admitted in many interviews that only Ravi Shankar had the synchronization with him on the role of music in the film grammar – he felt that only Ravi Shankar understood the relationship of music to the film. Satyajit Ray never forgot what Ravi Shankar wrote for his films and probably never tried any other music directors after two failed experiments with Ustad Vilayat Khan and Akbar Ali Khan. That shows the consummate genius of Pandit Ravi Shankar in adjusting his talents to the metrics of any medium – live, recorded or in-film. There were also other musicians who became music directors for films. L Subramaniam had a dash with a few films like “Salaam Bombay”, L Vaidyanathan in “Pushpak”, Shiv-Hari (the Santoorist-Flutist duo) for Yash Chopra films. But all of them met with limited success – they had to call it a day sooner whereas Ravi Shankar scored the music as a privilege to the audience. It is like a preface to the world audiences and it is still etched well in public memory.

Whether it was solo performances or jugalbandis or a collaborative exercise with a bigger orchestra, Panditji was unique and uncomprising. He  was credited to introduce many firsts  in public performances – first to give the Tabla player a solo, first to make program notes, first to introduce sound checks (which spawned an entire industry in sound recordings and arrangements), first to introduce “friendly combats”.  I have attended a live performance of Panditji and his daughter Anoushka RaviShankar in HICC Hyderabad a few years back – and he was as magical as ever with fingers that were still stringing beautifully. Unlike many other musicians of contemporary fame, he knew  when to stop, when to make it sound spontaneous, when to annotate his music, when to let the others get full limelight and when to chastise an audience if they are found to be listless.

Though I have not read his first book “My music, my Life”, I had the fortune to get hold of his second book , more of a memoir “Raaga Malika”. What an exquisite and charming book set in lovely and musical font with elegant layout and exciting photo albums. It had also got a wonderful narrative of Ravi Shankar’s journey to greatness. I am of the opinion that Ravi Shankar had gone where few other Indian musicians had travelled because he was a complete musician presentable in full  - articulate in English, intelligent, charming and famously flirtatious with the ladies, replete with all the etiquette and manners of fully accomplished Indian musicians, and always representing India at her best. At age 92, when he passed away on a day that wont come in another hundred years, he lived the most eventful life that any musician would die for. His output across classical and fusion music must have reverberated across every acoustic auditorium around the world. Panditji, you have left a legacy of love, music and daughters who will carry on your name to greater heights. R.I.P