Srinivas put mandolin in spotlight
Palakole villagers mourned the demise of mandolin exponent Uppalapu Srinivas
Rajahmundry: Palakole villagers mourned the demise of mandolin exponent and Padma Shri awardee Uppalapu Srinivas at a private hospital in Chennai on Friday.
His talent was recognised by his band master father Satyanarayana, who gifted him his first mandolin. He later approached guru Rudraraju Subbaraju to teach Srinivas.
Subbaraju did not know how to play the instrument but he would sing while Srinivas would play the tune on his mandolin, which was not that popular in Indian classical music.
Srinivas received appreciation during the visit of noted vocalist M. Balam-urali Krishna to the village.
Villagers recalled that the renowned singer wanted to felicitate Srinivas before others recognised his talent, showing the kind of appreciation he received from professionals at the tender age of eight.
Later, Srinivas moved to Chennai after his guru Subbaraju shifted to the metropolis. Srinivas made Chennai his base for exploring the world of music. He was initially dismissed by the purists for “corrupting” classical music by using a western instrument.
He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1998.
Srinivas was a follower and devotee of Sathya Sai Baba and had performed before him on several occasions. His music had also enthralled Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Former President Venkataraman had attended his marriage.
The Kanchi Kamakoti seer had bestowed upon him the title of Asthana Sangita Vidhwamsudu of the Peetham.
Srinivas’ uncle Peddiraju said, “I raised him when he was a boy and now I am unable to bear his loss.”
Lata Mangeshkar posted on Twitter, “When he was 14-year-old, I saw his performance on TV. He used to play Indian classical music brilliantly. It was quite tough to play classical music on mandolin.”
Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain said he considered the young musician as his brother: “Today mother India cries, today a part of Indian music died and we are orphaned.”