Gongura beats of Sivamani & U Shrinivas

The two are radically different but their musical confluence is energizing. While Sivamani spars with Hyderabad Times in a lively banter, U Shrinivas weighs every word. Catch the duo drum and strum for you tonight at the Times Hyderabad Festival
I drum no matter where I am: Sivamani
What do you have in store for Hyderabadis tonight?
A spicy beat. The Gongura beat.
Gongura beat?
I’m going to have hot gongura for lunch and when I get on stage in the evening you can see the effect for yourself.
From your hippie look in “Padmati Sandhya Ragam” to the bandana sporting percussionist who can make music with whatever object is within reach, what has the journey been like?
I hated my look in the film. I am more comfortable with my current look. There’s no need to go for expensive salon treatments or spending money on shampoos. After a bath I don’t even need a towel to wipe my head. My head is fully shaven and every day I feel like I’ve just come from Tirupati. My musical journey began with my jamming to “Mehbooba Mehbooba”. It was my first solo performance and Bala Subramaniam sir was so impressed that he asked my father to send me with him on his Andhra tour.
We heard you are composing seven numbers for the upcoming “Bhoologa Ratchagan” and that a couple of numbers will be done in 35 languages?
I’m doing the project with my friend Stephen Devassy. The director wants to use 300 singers, but since he is busy we are yet to start work.
Sounds like a challenging project.
Yes. That’s why I have been to Sabarimala and vowed that I will not touch non-vegetarian food till the project is complete.
All your shows are energy packed. How do you prepare yourself for a show?
I meditate before every show, to calm myself. I call on my masters to be with me and enjoy the music when I play. When I do solos I am in a trance and I don’t know what I do.
After all the banging how do your hands feel?
After every show I put cocoa butter in hot water and steam it. I rub in the hot liquid and have a nice massage and relax. I can’t keep quiet. I drum no matter where I am — on the tub, on the water.
What’s the best thing about jugalbandi?
I consider it to be an honor to play with a genius like Srinivas. I’ve known him since he was nine years old. I am a big fan of his and I love playing with him. The show is going to rock.
How do you find the response in Hyderabad to your shows?
In every city that I have been I’ve always had awesome response. God has given me this gift to make music, with it I raise the kundalini of the audience!
Music has the power to heal: U Shrinivas
What are you performing for the Times Hyderabad Festival?
I’m looking forward to performing tonight. I need not say much about Sivamani. Everyone knows he’s a genius. We usually decide on the basic ragas we are performing, since it’s a jugalbandi. The improvisations are spontaneous. That’s the beauty of it.
How’s the chemistry that you and Sivamani share?
Once Sivamani is on stage he transforms. He knows the pulse of the audience. It is challenging to perform with him and though we have been performing together for many years he always brings something new each time he performs. I love doing creative stuff and trying different things. When I started off, mandolin was a western instrument and I was the first to play Carnatic music on it. Today we have many modes of entertainment but only music has the power to bring about true relaxation and peace of mind.
What does music mean to you?
For me each and every concert is important. Music is like an ocean and I learn with every performance. Music is my breath. It is everything to me. I owe everything in my life to music.
It’s well known that you are a child prodigy who debuted at nine.
I was playing the mandolin since I was five. My father was my first teacher and he taught me to play the mandolin. Initially it was very hard for me to find a teacher. My father’s guru Subbaraju sir would sing Carnatic music and I would play the mandolin to it. After that music director Koti’s brother S Vasu Rao took me under his wings. I had developed the gamakas and techniques for the use of mandolin in Carnatic music. Now it’s easier for those who want to play Carnatic music on it.
You run a school. What’s the best part of teaching music?
I learn as I teach. I don’t teach music for time pass so I pick and choose my students. I have students from all over the globe and many of them have successful careers. Music director Devi Sri Prasad was my student.
Tell us about your most memorable performances?
At a recent concert in Singapore I performed with Chinese musician Prof Lui, it was a jugalbandi between us and he was playing the yang shin (a santoor like instrument). The concert we did for the UN Peace Day in 2009 was a memorable one. We had John Mclaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Shankar Mahadevan and Selvaganesh. Music has the power to heal the world.
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