THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Udupi brothers in the city can aptly be called a "one stop shop' where different classical music talents merge together. The three brothers, along with their father, form a full-fledged classical music troupe and people who come in search of them are all the more happy to find four talents under the same roof.
While the brothers - Srikant, Sreejith and Sreenath - handle the Kanjira, violin and vocals respectively, their father Sridhar wields the mridangam. Though their mother is a homemaker, music is a talent which has been restricted to not just the four of them. Sridhar has three brothers and two sisters, who are again gifted in music. Classical music has always been in their blood, with the group of brothers coming first in any musical event right from their childhood days.
The family who migrated from Udupi in Karnataka eighty years back, has seen quite a growth in their musical career from those days. It was infact through the efforts of their grandfather K V Subray Potti, who spent his initial days here setting up a small tea stall cum hotel that everything started. Since then, the group of brothers and their father have come a long way.
Interestingly, the four musicians all started their career in mridangam under the guidance of Karamana Krishnankutty, an established artiste in Mridangam and Kanjira. Graduating further, they chose a different branch of classical music. The group of four have attended many major concerts not only across the country but outside as well. Apart from their own individual programmes, the four of them also accompany other vocal artistes for their performances. The brothers along with their father Sridhar has accompanied many major musicians for their performance.
While Udupi Sridhar is a grade 'A' artist in Ghadam, Srijith is a graded artist in violin. Srikant is a graded artist in Kanjira and Konnakol. The group of brothers have also composed a lot of songs for classical dance and music programmes
Elaborating how classical musicians are encouraged in the city, Srinath says, "It is hard to get established here but once you prove your talent in another place, then accolades pour in."