'Seenu kutty mama' as he is fondly called, Madurai T. Srinivasan is a well known figure in the field of music be it Carnatic or Cine music. The lithe movements of his fingers on the mridhangam is a sight to behold. For the past 40 years, he has accompanied renowned musicians in concerts and has played the mridhangam in many South Indian movies (background music). Son of Madurai Thiruvengada Iyengar and Alarmelu Ammal, Srinivasan alias Seenu kutty mama was interested in music right from his younger years. Madurai Balakrishna Iyengar, who was his father's friend was a frequent visitor to his house. He along with his friends used to hold discussions about the worldly affairs in his father's house. While the discussions were going on, Srinivasan used to tap his fingers on Mr. Balakrishna Iyengar's head as though he as playing a
mridhangam. Noticing this habit of Srinivasan, Balakrishna Iyengar recommended him to a music school.
Thus started his journey into the world of music. In the beginning he learnt music in the Gurukul of Chozhavandhan Sesha Iyengar. He was under Sesha Iyengar for seven years. He gained experience in both vocal music and mridhangam. After school hours, he used to learn music from 4 pm till 8 pm. It is worth mentioning that T.R.Mahalingam, a very popular movie star was also a disciple of Chozhavandhan Sesha
Iyengar.
Apart from Srinivasan, his elder brother T.Venkatesan was an expert in vocal music and another of his brothers was a connoisseur of music. Thus his family was a musically inclined one. He was 11 years old when he had his first concert. He played accompaniment to his elder brother Venkatesan. Then he came to Chennai with his father and started his life in Vanamamalai- which was opposite the Triplicane Parthasarathy temple...
It was here that his life took a turn, when he gained a friend in Vaidhyanadhan, a popular lyricist. Meanwhile, he was accompanying Alarmelu Akka, the latter's daughter. This was the time when he was given the chance to play for a film called 'Edhirparadhadhu', starring the thespian Shivaji and Padmini. Pandurangan was the music director of the film. Srinivasan became friendly with E E K Menon, father of the popular singer P.Leela and and was incorporated into the world of cinema.
His entry into the cineworld and his touch with the music directors is still going strong with the present younger generation. Talking about his memorable moments, he turns nostalgic. He reminisces about an incident involving Heeralal,a well known Dance Director of Hindi cinema. Says he,'' Mr.Heeralal had sent for us for a song picturisation for a film called 'Neelkamal'. Mr.K.Nagarajarao, Mr.Dhraviyam and a few others accompanied me to Mumbai. The song was picturised on a big stage. But when the song was played the dance and the music did not synchronise properly. Mr. Heeralal became tensed and I offered to correct the mistakes in the Swara and after I rectified it Mr.Heeralal was full of praise and said that the South Indians are the Kings of Laya''. Indeed, a true and deserving accolade!
'Seenu kutty mama' as he is fondly called, Madurai T. Srinivasan is a well known figure in the field of music be it Carnatic or Cine music. The lithe movements of his fingers on the mridhangam is a sight to behold. For the past 40 years, he has accompanied renowned musicians in concerts and has played the mridhangam in many South Indian movies (background music). Son of Madurai Thiruvengada Iyengar and Alarmelu Ammal, Srinivasan alias Seenu kutty mama was interested in music right from his younger years. Madurai Balakrishna Iyengar, who was his father's friend was a frequent visitor to his house. He along with his friends used to hold discussions about the worldly affairs in his father's house. While the discussions were going on, Srinivasan used to tap his fingers on Mr. Balakrishna Iyengar's head as though he as playing a
mridhangam. Noticing this habit of Srinivasan, Balakrishna Iyengar recommended him to a music school.
It was here that his life took a turn, when he gained a friend in Vaidhyanadhan, a popular lyricist. Meanwhile, he was accompanying Alarmelu Akka, the latter's daughter. This was the time when he was given the chance to play for a film called 'Edhirparadhadhu', starring the thespian Shivaji and Padmini. Pandurangan was the music director of the film. Srinivasan became friendly with E E K Menon, father of the popular singer P.Leela and and was incorporated into the world of cinema.
