Chennai: Renowned mandolin exponent Uppalapu Srinivas, who took the Carnatic music world by storm as a child prodigy with a western instrument, died here Friday following liver-related illness at the age of 45. Popularly known as 'Mandolin' Srinivas, he breathed his last this morning in a private hospital where he was undergoing treatment. Srinivas gave his first public performance at the age of nine and grew into a much-sought after personality among fans in the Carnatic music world.
A 10-year-old from Chennai broke down at her teacher Mandolin Srinivas’ house on Friday as she recalled the joy of her mandolin classes with the maestro. S. Swathi has been an ardent student of Srinivas since she was six. “My classmates would call me his favourite student. He used to reach out to children in a friendly manner and seldom chided anyone,” she said reminiscing the days spent learning from her teacher.
Accompanied by her mother, Swathi was one of the many Chennaiites who arrived at the maestro’s residence as news of his death spread across the city. Sharing her grief and disbelief were prominent singers, musicians and fans. As the pioneer’s body entered his Vadapalani residence on Friday afternoon, friends and family received him in disbelief of his death. The body was placed on the porch to allow fans to pay their tribute. The cremation will take place on Saturday at the Besant Nagar crematorium at 3 pm.
Singer Devi Sri Prasad, who was also Srinivas’ student since he was three, said that Srinivas had a comical way of pointing out mistakes made by his students. “He would mock them and get them to play better. It made the student-teacher bond between us stronger.” “Though he was younger than me, he was my biggest source of inspiration as he left behind a legacy of modern Carnatic music. At 45, Srinivas had overcome a lot of hardships to achieve his goals,” said violinist Sriram Parasuram.
Survived by his parents and younger brother, Srinivas had dedicated his life for his family since his childhood, according to his distraught father U.Sathyanarayanan who was overheard telling this to music director Illayaraja. “A religious person, he made music the religion for several people,” said Arusuvai Natarajan, who has been Srinivas’ cook since the musician’s childhood.
