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 The
instrument veena is associated with Veena Balachander, likewise, mandolin
is associated with U
Shrinivas.
He was born at Palakol in
West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh February 28, 1969. At the age of
six, his parents found him playing on his father's mandolin. Inspired by
the boy's interest in music, Satyanarayana, his father, taught him to play
the instrument and Shrinivas began playing light music.
Subbaraju was a disciple
of the famous musical stalwart Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar. He had no
experience on the mandolin, so he would sing Carnatic music and Shrinivas
would play it on the mandolin. The young musician developed his own style.
Shrinivas got his first
big break in Gudivada in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh at the age of
nine during the Sri Tyagaraja Aradhana festival.
He first performed a
concert at the Indian Fine Arts Society in Chennai during the musical
festival in December 1981.
In the year 1983, at the
West Berlin Jazz festival, he had the privilege of giving a repeat
performance, which was telecast live by a German TV.
At the invitation of the
Sydney Tamil Sangham, he went to Australia in 1984, and then to south east
and south west Asia, the US and Canada. At the festival of India in Paris,
he was allotted one hour to play on the instrument. But when the concluded
the concert, the audience forced the organisers to extend his programme by
another hour.
 In
1983, the Music Academy honoured him with the 'Special TTK Award'.
The boy reached dizzying
heights in mastering the mandolin, far surpassing what he learnt from his
guru. Listeners were swept away in the flood of neatly executed touches
and rhythmic patterns coming from the prodigy's fingers. Everyone forgot
the instrument he was playing and gave themselves up to the sensation, the
sheer joy of listening to the mellifluous melody that flowed out of the
instrument!
At Mexico and Cuba
In October 1987,
Shrinivas
toured Mexico and Cuba and participated in the Cevantino Festival at
Mexico. He was the first Carnatic musician to visit Cuba and the first
south Indian Carnatic musician to have participated in this festival.
Paloma, the wife of the Mexican President, who had intended to make a
brief 10-minute appearance for the sake of formality, was so captivated by
the music that she stayed back for an entire hour.
Olympic Arts Festival
at Barcelona
There were artistes from
60 countries and Shrinivas was the only one from India. The duration of the
concert was 45 minutes. One has to stop at the 44th minute, but the minute
Shrinivas stopped, the 9,000-strong audience started clamouring "once
more" and he was accorded a standing ovation. So, the organisers
relented and gave him another 10 minutes.
Fusion Albums
Dream
 Dream, a mix of classical
Indian music, electric mandolin and soaring electric guitar creates a
worldly fusion of ragas, progressive rock and ambient/techno, a musical
fever dream accented with other oddities, from violin and cello to drum
loops. It is highly improvisational, with Michael Brook contributing King
Crimsonish guitar against Shrinivas' nimble runs on the mandolin.
Shrinivas, with his depth
of musical skill and knowledge, has brought forth his own composition, 'Srujana'
(Sindhu Bhairavi - Tisra Nadai), which is a lively 'Note', resembling the
western noted structure.
His goal in life is to
popularise Carnatic music all over the world through his mandolin. With
his rich classical background, he also aims at propagating music globally
through mandolin concerts.
He
has already performed with renowned artistes like Ustad Zakir Hussain,
Ustad Sultan Khan, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan,
and international stars like John McLaughlin, Michael Brook, Nana
Vasconcelos and Nigel Kennedy.
Shrinivas hopes to realise
his dreams through the organisation that he has set up - 'Shrinivas
Institute of World Musique' (SIOWM).
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Titles and awards |
- In December 1983, The Music Academy, Chennai, honoured him with the
'Special TTK Award' for his recital in the Academy's Music Festival.
- On January 23, 1983, Thyagaraja Gana Sabha, Palakol (AP), honoured him by conferring the title
'Mandolin Samrat'
- The Government of Tamil Nadu appointed him as
Asthana Vidwan in July 1984 .
- M S Subbylakshmi conferred the title
'Sangeetha Bala Bhaskara' on Shrinivas on behalf of Sri Sankara Mutt, K K Nagar, Chennai.
- Sri Krishna Gana Sabha honoured him with the coveted title
'Sangeetha Choodamani' in commemoration of the International Year of the Youth, 1985.
- Sri Raja Lakshmi Foundation conferred the title
'Swara Kishore' during the presentation of the 'Raja Lakshmi Foundation Award' to
Shrinivas on November 19, 1985.
- On March 27, 1987, Mother Teresa conferred the title
'Andhra Ratna Kala Saraswati' on behalf of Andhra Pradesh Kalavedika,
Hyderabad.
- Kalaranjini conferred the title 'Nada Suda Nidhi' on July 30, 1987.
- In December 1989, The Music Academy honoured
Shrinivas with the 'Senior Vidwan Award' for his recital at the academy's music festival.
- On December 15, 1990, Karthik Fine Arts, Chennai, honoured
Shrinivas by conferring the title 'Isai Peroli'.
- On January 26, 1991, Tamil Nadu Eyal Iasi Nataka Mandram conferred on him the title
'Kalaimamani'.
- On June 24, 1991, Shrinivas was awarded the
top rank of All India Radio for Carnatic classical instrumental on the mandolin.
- On February 17, 1992, the Academy of Music, Bangalore, honoured him with the
'Sangeetha Ratna Mysore T Chowdiah Memorial National Award
1992'.
- On September 14, 1992, he was awarded the prestigious
'National Citizen's Award-1991' by the then President of India.
Shrinivas is the youngest person to have received such a prestigious award.
- On January 2, 1993, the Music Academy honoured
Shrinivas with the 'Best Artiste Award'.
- On April 25, 1993, at Washington, he was awarded
'The honorary citizenship' of the state of Maryland, USA, by the Governor of Maryland.
- On July 16, 1993, Sri Jayendra Baktha Samajam honoured him by conferring the title
'Thanthri Nadhamani' through the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal.
- In 1993, he was given the 'Billboard Award'
for his CD compilation.
- On January 1, 1994, Shrinivas received the
'Rajiv Gandhi National Integration Award', instituted by Indian Bank and 'Idhayam
Pesukirathu'.
- On January 1, 1994, the Music Academy presented
Shrinivas with 'The Yogam Nagaswami Award' for best artiste.
- On August 27, 1995, Shrinivas was nominated the
'Asthana Vidwan' of Pillaiyarpatti temple at Pillaiyarpatti.
- On January 5, 1996, Sri Gnanananda Seva Samajam and Sri Bhagavatha Sammelan Samajam conferred on him the title of
'Sangeetha Kalamrutha'.
- On May 5, 1996, the Academy of Indian Music, Melbourne, conferred on him the title
'Raaga Rytha Rishi'.
- On April 12, 1998, Shrinivas was awarded the nation's prestigious award
'Padmasri' by the then President of India.
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