Born on February 28, 1969, in Palakol in Andhra Pradesh, U. Srinivasis frequently billed as Mandolin Srinivas. Chitravina Ravikiran plays the chitravina while others have vina, violin, clarinet or even fiddle as calling cards. And the Tamil composer Cook Srivivasalu gained his name through working as cook at the temple of Sri Minakshi! U. Srinivas's father, Satayanarayana Raju, taught him initially and his natural talent soon blossomed. He made his first public appearance at the age of nine. He proved a revelation and was hailed as a child prodigy. Srinivas was the first to use the mandolin in Indian Karnatic classical music. He has recorded extensively and his recorded output traces a rising graph of excellence. His instrument has little to do with Neapolitan or flatback mandolin models. His is a five-string solid body electric model more akin to the electric instrument played by the American mandolinist Tiny Moore than traditional acoustic models. U. Srinivas has recorded extensively -- perhaps too extensively, especially in his younger days. by Ken Hunt