Mridangist Sridhar Parthasarathy passes away while performing on stage

It was last year at Malhar and the Sea, a festival on Goa’s Arrosim Beach. As a high-energy group of artistes, the kind often seen in instrumental ensembles, took to the stage, one could almost feel the adrenaline rush. It featured Taufiq Qureshi on the djembe, Yogesh Samsi on the tabla, and Shikhar Naad Qureshi and Omkar Sakunkhe on the drums. Amid them sat the quiet and unassuming Sridhar Parthasarathy.If appearances can be deceptive, it was certainly true in Sridhar’s case. Much of the audience, some of whom may not have heard him play before, watched in awe as he launched into a powerful tisram, punctuated by subtle yet striking strokes. In that moment, the seemingly reserved musician revealed the depth of his artistry and made his presence felt on stage.Sridhar passed away on Friday morning after suffering a heart attack while performing at a Diwali Pahat concert in Balewadi, Pune. He was rushed to Manipal Hospital in Baner, where he was declared dead. Shocked friends and colleagues from the music fraternity have since been posting tributes on social media.Mumbai-based Sridhar, whose training in the mridangam began at the age of six under vidwan Karaikudi R. Chandramouli, accompanied several Carnatic stalwarts, including D.K. Pattammal and M. Balamuralikrishna, over the course of his career. Apart from performing jugalbandis with Hindustani musicians, he was also a regular presence in experimental instrumental ensembles, sharing the stage with Vikku Vinayakaram, Louis Banks, Ranjit Barot, Fazal Qureshi, Taufiq Qureshi and Niladri Kumar.Recalling his four-decade-long association with Sridhar, singer Shankar Mahadevan shared an emotional post on Instagram. “Just cannot digest this. A huge loss for me and the music fraternity. My first-ever Carnatic concert, about 40 years ago, was with Sridhar on the mridangam. He passed away while playing a concert. Can you imagine? What a way to exit this planet,” he wrote.Reflecting on the time they spent together on and off stage, Mahadevan added: “We have spent hours and days with music, jokes and crazy laughter,” before ending the tribute with the words, “Love you, Sridhar.” Sridhar with Ranjit Barot, Louis Banks and Gino Banks | Photo Credit: Courtesy: Louis Banks Facebook In a Facebook post, Louis Banks, widely regarded as the “Godfather of Indian Jazz”, expressed his shock at Sridhar’s passing and wrote, “You will be deeply missed, Sridhar. May your soul rest in eternal peace.”Drummer Gino Banks described Sridhar as a “gem of a human being”. Referring to him as one of his mentors, Gino wrote, “This one hits very hard. I got a chance to play with him often over the years and learnt every time... and I’m still learning.”Cultural curator Durga Jasraj, daughter of Pt. Jasraj, also remembered the mridangist in an emotional post. “My dear friend, I don’t know how to say goodbye to you. Your musicianship was so pure that perhaps it is the reason God chose to take you while you were on stage performing,” she wrote.Mumbai-based Carnatic percussionist Ganesh Murali Iyer, whose ghatam playing featured on eight tracks of Ed Sheeran’s album Play, took to Instagram to pay tribute to Sridhar. In his post, he wrote: “Anna, you will be greatly missed. Many South Indian percussionists from Mumbai and across India have grown up watching you perform with legendary musicians such as Ustad Zakir Hussain ji. I remember watching those videos as a child.”Realising the potential of percussion on the global stage, Sridhar began looking beyond conventional concert platforms and joined hands with like-minded musicians to explore rhythm in new contexts.When I met him at Malhar and the Sea in Goa last year and asked whether he enjoyed being part of collaborative projects, his response reflected the conviction that shaped much of his later work. With a hint of a smile, he said: “Yes, of course. Otherwise, I would never have ventured into it. I am not the kind of person who does something just to follow a trend. I know collaboration is the current buzzword, but that’s not the only reason for me to enter this space. It has allowed percussionists to experience a whole new world of possibilities that one cannot imagine in regular concerts. I am also here because all the co-creators are making every moment worth the effort. Every time we go up to perform, we compete, but in a good way. The driving force, though, is the camaraderie.”These words sum up Sridhar’s musical journey, while the camaraderie he spoke of was reflected in the tributes from fellow musicians, who remembered not only his artistry but also his warmth and generosity.”