Even as he is gearing up to pay tribute to mandolin maestro late U. Srinivas, his guru, noted music composer Devi Sri Prasad, in an exclusive, shares with DC, his nostalgic moments with his mentor. On the occasion of the third death anniversary (February 28) of Srinivas, DSP has also come out with a single Gurave Namaha, which has been conceptualised, composed and sung by him with Sri Jonnavitthula’s lyrics in Sanskrit.
“When I first met my mentor, I was in the third grade. It was my mother who took me to his house to learn mandolin, as she was fond of the instrument. My guru’s eyes were powerful and always magical. He looked into my eyes and asked me if I was really interested in learning music or is simply whiling away my time, because, he wanted to make sure that his pupils were keen on music,” DSP opens up about how they bonded.
“While everyone calls me Devi, my guru would call me Prasad,” he adds. “I learnt mandolin for over 10 years and every day I would be there at 5 am for my classes. During the summer holidays, I spent all my time at anna’s house. That way, I figuratively grew up at his house,” he reminisces.
DSP also reveals an exclusive piece of information. “My guru has composed a whole tune in mandolin and left without releasing it. I have taken permission from his younger brother Rajesh and I am now working on the full orchestration and arrangements to complete the song. The soon-to-be released tribute song is aptly titled ‘The Great Mandolin’.”
Talking about how possessive he was about Srinivas’s mandolin, DSP says, “I would carry his mandolin whenever he set out for his performances. I would unpack it on stage and pack it up once the kutcheri got over. I would never even allow his brother Rajesh to touch it then.”
Explaining yet another great quality of Srinivas, the composer says, “He would never get angry. Even if he observed a mistake of mine while performing, anna would ask politely, ‘Prasad, how did you get that new note, can you teach me?’, thus pointing my mistakes to me in a humorous way.”
He was a true example of how to be a grounded person at all times, DSP says.
Speaking about the album, Gurave Namaha, he says, “A great guru is very important to the success of everyone irrespective of the field they are in. That way this song is dedicated to all gurus who have brought meaning to people’s lives.”
