Date:27/01/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/lf/2004/01/27/stories/2004012708940200.htm

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Get ready for the mandolin magic

Srinivas and Rajesh: On the same wavelength

BANGALORE HAS just launched the first FM channel devoted to classical music, and the City is already resonating to a number of classical music concerts. Soon, Bangaloreans can look forward to a rare concert. U. Srinivas, then a child prodigy and now a mandolin vidwan, will be peforming along with his brother, U. Rajesh.

When Srinivas began playing Carnatic ragas on the mandolin more than a decade ago, eyebrows were raised. Purists wondered whether the mandolin could adapt to the nuances of Carnatic music and were pleasantly surprised to find it could. Today, he is one of the finest exponents of Carnatic music, critics acclaim.

The concert will be held on Saturday, January 31, at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall. Tickets are available at Music World, Brigade Road; K.C. Das, Church Street; Calypso, Jayanagar; and Asha Sweet Centre, Malleswaram.

The occasion will also see the release of Shree Sobagu, a work of 103 verses in Kannada, in praise of divine beauty, written by Gurumatha Amma. The verses, sung by Manjula Gururaj on a CD, are being released on Saturday.

Veda Vyasa Peetha of Jeevana Dharma Yoga Trust, which is bringing the concert to our city, is going to be a different centre of education. The foundation stone for it was laid by Ustad Bismillah Khan during his last visit to Bangalore

The Peetha is now under construction. It will offer Vedic education, yogic knowledge, health food, and ayurvedic, homoeopathic, and allopathic consultations. Itwill offer an opportunity for self-realisation to individuals who are otherwise busy in their corporate and personal life. The Peetha is located at Sridhara Sri Gudda, Kengeri, on the Bangalore-Mysore Highway.

By Satyamurty K