Sivamani, Srinivas enthrall Kolkata

What happens when the deep rumble of the drum joins the sonorous tunes of a mandolin? Pure magic.
Ace percussionist Sivamani came together with U Srinivas on the mandolin to enthrall the audience with their music at an event organized by The Times of India, on Sunday at Calcutta Club.
“The crowd was receptive to what we were playing and it was a great experience for us as well.We played tunes based on Raag Madhuvanti, Bhairavi and a few others,” said Sivamani, visibly exulted after a scintillating performance. The audience enjoyed every bit of the performance and broke out in applause every time there was a question-answer session between the drums and the mandolin. They were suitably accompanied on the synthesizer by Harmeet Manseta.
The magic was not limited to drums and soon, the maestro picked up a tray and walked among the astounded audience mesmerizing all with the sound of a spoon on the tray. “I spotted Pt Govinda Bose in the audience and started an impromptu jam with him with the tray and spoon,” Sivamani said. There were more surprises left for the audience as the ace drummer soon picked up a red suitcase from the wings and started playing it. “Rhythm is all around us, we just need the ears to hear them,” he said.
“Only Sivamani can do something like this. He is a wonder with any type of percussion,” said Pt Govinda Bose. Effortlessly moving from one corner of the stage to the other, Sivamani ably construed a musical magic making full use of a wide array of drums and percussion. All the while, there was perfect synchrony between the mandolin and drums. “Fusion music of this quality is breathtaking. The diverse range of the two instruments complimented each other beautifully,” said a member of the audience. Not one to miss out on the niceties in life Sivamani was seen visiting a popular sweet shop in the city soon after the concert was over. “They had downed shutters but opened again since I wanted to pack rosogollas and take them with me,” laughed Sivamani.
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