Musical Genius is always through Divine Grace

Vid. Mandolin U. Shrinivas 1984 'Parvathi' Ramanavami Concert

Review by R. Sachi

We are pleased to share yet another wonderful concert of an unprecedented genius in the Carnatic world, Mandolin Shrinivas. Shrinivas was almost a member of the Parvathi family.

Nowadays we are presented a number of youngsters hardly ten to twelve years old, as prodigies. They are also compared to Mandolin U Shrinivas. But we think at Parvathi that there can be no other musician like him. He did not have a family tradition in Carnatic music, nor rigorous training from infancy, nor influential patronage. He emerged from the rustic hinterland on to the concert stage through sheer effort and more importantly, divine grace. His success, his enchantment, and his leaving us destitute through his early passing away, are all part of a unique “divine leela”.

There is this famous shloka of how Goddess Saraswati confers literary and musical gifts like a mother breastfeeds her child:

saṅgītamatha sāhityaṁ sarasvatyāḥ stanadvayam |
ekamāpātamadhuram anyadālocanāmṛtam ||

So a Shrinivas is nurtured musically by Divinity in ways we cannot fathom.

In this 1984 concert, where he is ably assisted by senior musicians like Sri. Govindaswamy, Sri. Upendran, and Sri.Venkatram, we see the early signs of his genius, through his rendering a wide variety of famous compositions with panache.

His choice of the song, “Marivere” appears to be his constant prayer to the Goddess for grace.

Come, let us enjoy the concert without further ado!

Details

U.Shrinivas....... Mandolin
M.S. Govindaswamy... Violin
Tanjore Upendran... Mridangam
Bangalore Venkataram.... Ghatam
On April 10, 1984 at 'Parvathi' during Sri Ramanavami Music Festival.

Song List 01. Vanajaksha Atatala Varnam - Kalyani –Pallavi Gopala Iyer *** 02. Srimahaganapathi – Gaula – Muthuswami Dikshitar *** 03. Raghunayaka – Hamsadhwani –Thyagaraja *** 04. Endaromahanubhavulu – Sriraga- Thyagaraja *** 05. Saraswathi raga *** 06. Anuragamule – Saraswathi – Thyagaraja *** 07. Marivere – Ananda Bhairavi – Shyama Shastri *** 08. Niravadhisukhada – Ravichandrika – Thyagaraja *** 09. Todi alapana *** 10. Tana+Kaddanuvariki – Todi-Thyagaraja *** 11. Enta muddo – Bindumalini – Thyagaraja *** 12. Raghuvamshasudha – Kadanakutuhalam – Patnam Subramanya Iyer *** 13. Jagadoddharana – Kapi- Purandaradasa *** 14. Baro Krishnayya – Ragamalika – Kanakadasa *** 15. Thillana – Desh – Lalgudi Jayaraman *** 16. ? -Sindhu bhairavi -? *** 17. Thriuppugah – Hamsanandi – Arunagirinathar *** 18. Mangalam ***