Guru N. S. Srinivasan, an eminent flautist and composer passed away on 22 January, 2006 in Hyderabad, after a brief illness. He was 75.
Hailing from Arcot in Tamil Nadu, Srinivasan studied in Tirupati and graduated from Presidency College in Chennai. Later he came under the influence of T. R. Mahalingam and became one of the few direct disciples of Mali. He was a contemporary and a bosom friend of Dr. N. Ramani.
Srinivasan joined All India Radio as a flautist, in Hyderabad during the 50’s, and was associated with it for over four decades. Here, under the tutelage of eminent Telugu poets and writers like Devulapalli Krishna Sastry and Katuri Venkateswara Rao, he developed a great love for Telugu language and became proficient in it. At A.I.R. he rose to the position of producer of Carnatic music programmes. Two of his most innovative productions were, 'Universality of Music' which won an All India Award and a seminal series on 'Appreciation of Thyagaraja Kirthanas'.
At A.I.R., Srinivasan produced many plays in Telugu and English. His ‘voice-over’ for English characters was much sought after. According to P. Gopalakrishna, the present director at Prasar Bharathi, Srinivasan was known for his sense of humour and impeccable English.
Srinivasan was the mentor and guru of several young artistes of various instruments in the twin cities including Sivaprasad (whistle) and R. Jayaprada (flute). Srinivasan was very active in the various sabhas of Hyderabad and Secunderabad till recently.
Srinivasan is survived by his wife Sarada, a thespian and an A.I.R. artiste in her own right and daughter Neerada, a Kuchipudi dancer.
