Tribute festivals serve a deeper purpose than merely reviving memories. They offer a moment to pause and reflect on how an artiste has shaped the musical landscape, why their works continue to endure and what aspects of their artistry are worth emulating. ‘The GREATMANdolin’ show on March 6 (6 p.m.) at the Music Academy is one such reminder of the extraordinary journey of the child prodigy mandolin U. Shrinivas.
With a Western instrument in his hands, Shrinivas reimagined the contours of Carnatic music, crafting a sound that was entirely his own. More than 12 years after his passing, his music continues to find fresh expressions. A recent example is the 2025 Grammy nomination for Shakti’s ‘Shrini’s Dream’, a track composed in his honour by long-time friends and collaborators Ustad Zakir Hussain, John McLaughlin, Selva Ganesh, Ganesh Rajagopalan and Shankar Mahadevan.
’The GREATMANdolin’ show is an ode to maestro U. Shrinivas. | Photo Credit: Bhargavii Mani of Art at Edge
“’The GREATMANdolin’ is not just an ode to a young maestro, the annual tribute concert is a way to celebrate my brother’s ability to achieve equal success as a soloist and as a member of global ensembles. Even today, I am amazed at how, without indulging in compulsive experimentation, he constantly expanded the horizons of his music. I often wonder if, in the brief span of his life, he ever realised how profoundly he gave the mandolin a new character and tonal colour. Whether at home, on stage or at public gatherings, he spoke very little because his music did all the talking,” says mandolin exponent U. Rajesh, seated in the very room at his Vadapalani home in Chennai where Shrinivas spent time practising and composing.
“It’s never easy to put a musical show together,” adds Rajesh, “but it’s always exciting to work on ‘The GREATMANdolin’. Over the years, everyone we’ve invited has been eager to join. As tabla legend Ustad Zakir Hussain used to say, ‘Shrinivas wins hearts with just his innocent, childlike smile.’ That’s the image people still carry of him.”
Shrinivas began playing the mandolin at the age of six. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
Shrinivas’ mandolin was a bridge between East and West, between the past and future, between the known and the newly possible. It is this blend that renowned Carnatic vocalist, author and social activist T.M. Krishna captures with rare clarity when talking about Shrinivas. “He brought a completely new instrument into the world of Carnatic music. Though we called it mandolin, it was more accurately an electric mini-guitar. Shrinivas didn’t just adapt the instrument — he created an entirely new vocabulary for it, one that could express the grandeur and complexity of Carnatic music. He drew from both instrumental and vocal traditions, yet what emerged was unmistakably his own. When he played Kalyani, it was Shrinivas’ Kalyani. Some kirtanas have become synonymous with him,” says Krishna, who will headline ‘The GREATMANdolin’.
Carnatic music is inherently vocal-centric, and carving out a space as an instrumentalist is incredibly difficult. “But Shrinivas managed to,” Krishna points out. “In the 1980s, when amplified instruments were still unfamiliar in this space, this young boy introduced electric sound into a centuries-old tradition. And he achieved it all as an outsider. He did not belong to the core Carnatic world of Chennai. He came from a different social and cultural background. Only someone with a rare combination of talent, imagination and conviction could have done it.”
Senior musicians accompanied Shrinivas with pride, recognising early the depth of his vidwat. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
Shrinivas began playing the mandolin at the age of six. Though initially hesitant, his father, a clarinet artiste, at the insistence of friends allowed him to pursue it. Soon, the sight of the frail little boy with a mandolin in hand became familiar at concerts. Senior musicians accompanied him with pride, recognising early the depth of his vidwat.
“It wasn’t just his skill, he won over audiences and fellow artistes with his pleasing demeanour and humility. He was an ever-giving guru. Though I worked in cinema, that never bothered him; he was always willing to guide and support me. He would happily introduce me to the musicians and music lovers who came backstage to meet him after concerts. ‘The GREATMANdolin’ show is a reminder that art is always higher than the individual,” says popular music director Devi Sri Prasad, who has been part of the show since its inception.
An integral part of the pioneering multi-genre band Shakti, Shrinivas became a favourite of the Ustad, who had founded the ensemble alongside jazz virtuoso John McLaughlin. With both maestros now gone, one realises how their music continues to remain alive — not merely for the brilliance of their performances, but for the warmth of their personalities and the accessibility of their art.
Published - March 04, 2026 05:39 pm IST
