U Srinivas - Gananayakam

Gananayakam by U Srinivas. (To download or play the music file instead of the video, click HERE.)

In the long-standing tradition of South Indian music, this year's holiday music series opens with a prayer to the deity Ganesha, the Lord of Beginnings and the Overcomer of Obstacles.

Gananayakam (a reference to one of the names of Ganesha) is a Carnatic (South Indian classical) piece written by the medieval composer Muthuswamy Dikshitar and performed by the prodigy U Srinivas (a/k/a "Mandolin Srinivas") on the "double mandolin"; actually a Hawaiian ukelele that Srinivas adapted for Carnatic music. The use of western instruments for both Hindustani (north Indian) and Carnatic music is actually quite common; the violin was brought to India by the British and adapted for Carnatic music in the 18th century, and more recently, performers like V.M. Bhatt or Debashish Bhattacharya (steel guitar) and Kadri Gopalnath (saxophone) have brought new instruments into the fold. Hopefully we can all combine the best of tradition and innovation in our holiday celebrations!