Mesmerizing Melodious Mandolin Magic!

Surprised by the array of "M"s in the title? Well, it is not just a coincidence or a dash of flowery words put together, but really what the truth is, re-emphasized by what I experienced today - a musical harmony so profound that it caught the entire audience spellbound! All powered by the small 2-foot musical instrument, played by the master magician himself - Shri. U. Shrinivas. The first time I heard him play was in the small city where I grew up, when my dad took me to his concert. That was the very first time I heard this little 'mini-guitar-like' instrument, that produces rich, captivating, soothing and mellifluous music that's an absolute delight to the ears. Originally a western musical instrument descended from the lute and first used in Italy in the 18th century, it was first adapted and made to jingle to the tunes of Carnatic Classical Music by the six-year old child prodigy named Shrinivas. After his concert today, I was so intrigued that I started probing into the Mandolin, and its various melodious forms.

The mandolin derives its name from its almond-like shape, from the Italian word "Mandoria" meaning "almond". It belongs to the Lute family of instruments, which comprises stringed instruments such as Mandola, Theorbo and Chittarone. The original "acoustic" Mandolin is a hollow oval-shaped soundbox with a neck-cum-peghead attached to it that serves as the fretted fingerboard. It has four pairs of strings, which are played with the fingers of the left hand and plucked with the plectrum in the right hand. The other form, the "electric (solid block)" mandolin, also looks similar, but the main difference between the two forms is in the way sound is produced. In the acoustic mandolin, sound is produced by the resonating of vibrations generated in the sound box when a string is plucked, the sound box also serves as a mechanical amplifier for the vibrations. Whereas in electric version, there is no sound box, the vibrations are picked by a device called "electric pick-up" which converts the vibrations into v low electrical signals which are then fed to an amplifier. Now, being of western origin, both forms of the mandolin are unsuited as such for playing Carnatic Classical music, due to the "pairs" of strings, which make it difficult to produce 'gamakas' or prolonged notes that are fundamental to bring out the full essence of Carnatic music. Also, the sustenance period of a note (how long it is heard from the time the string is plucked) is not sufficient enough to support low-tempo tunes. Here is where the 'magician' came in and transformed the instrument with his spell to eliminate its limitations. First, he replaced the pair of strings with four single strings to enable gamakams. He also added a fifth string to enhance the acoustic range of the instrument. Here's a sample of what the traditional western mandolin sounds like and here's how it sounds in Carnatic Classical style as played by Shrinivas.
Here's more about the instrument itself.

Today, I was fortunate to hear Shri. U. Shrinivas perform in Milpitas CA, a performance which was no less than "simply classic". He started with a "Varnam" in Shri Raagam, followed by a prayer song "Shri Gananaatha" in Raagam Kanakanki. Then followed a beauftiful piece "Entha Muddho" in raagam Bindumaalini . Then there was a sweet and enchanting one in Kalyaani Raagam which I simply loved. The best was yet to come though, with a splendid, flawless 'Raagam Thanam Pallavi' with a bouquet of Raagas (Raagamaalika) which left the audience speechless and the hall resounding with applause. "Jagadodhaarana" in Raagam Kapi was next, followed by "Aaduvome Pallu Paaduvome", a Shri Bhaarathiyaar composition. The last few sugar bites were that of a Sai Bhajan in Misra Adi Bhairavi Raagam, "Chandrashekhara Sundaresha" in Sindhu Bhairavi Raagam, and a scintiallting grand finale in the form of a 'Thillana' in Desh Raagam.

What a wondrous instrument with infinite melody, and what a top-notch performance by a musical genius, that is still reveberating in my ears!