Sound of Silence

Just when I thought I was having enough of being engulfed in all that's happening around me, in Mumbai, in a city just so many miles away - I am seized by a call that tells me to deal with another loss. H Sridhar, the God of Sound died this morning, Im told. Heart attack. Passed away in his sleep. In peace. Without a sound. First reaction - Nah! Gods don't die. Only us, mere mortals kick the bucket when still in the shower! As for the Gods, well, they are here to envelop us with their Divine presence, in whatever they do. Sometimes without much ado, but always there. Pervading our lives without our knowledge (that's why we are mere mortals!).

Sridhar Sir was (Was? Is becomes Was, just like that?) our God of Sound. For so many people, whose lives he has touched with his work - with his sheer magnetic smile and few words, this day will mark a loss so irreplaceable that my normally 19 to a dozen words fail to do justice to express my vaccum! A R Rahman, Maniratnam, Kamalhaasan, Shankar - to name a few of those Creators who will be thinking right now (and for many days to come), of their innumerable moments of post production at Media Artistes with Sridhar Sir. Sridhar Sir has also engineered and mixed albums for international artists like George Harrison of The Beatles, John Neptune Kaizan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain, L.Shankar and John McLaughlin.

I've had the unique opportunity of knowing him both as the impeccable professional he is (was?!) and as this totally fun loving, music loving, guitar strumming guy next door, thanks to our common good friend W.Vijaykumar. We brought in 2006 at Kamal Sir's house, singing to karoke bits on CD made by Sridhar Sir, and then later on singing to both Viju and Sir going ballistic with their Electronic machines - I simply thank my stars for the one of the most unforgettable and precious gifts of my life! Sridhar sir was (is?!) one of the few people who could bring me to an upright position even if he were to just go past me! The minute he walked into the corridors leading to his studio, the atmosphere would just charge itself up to create the magic that he is so well known for. He was also known to be quite a terror at work - but I've rarely seen that side of him, maybe because I had so many questions to ask, so many answers to know, so much to learn and I wanted to ask him ALL, and he did'nt lose his cool even once. Aah! It is so very tiring to deal with pain. With the loss of someone you've always admired and wanted to work with in a real professional way! The way some of the names I mentioned earlier in this post did!

A true genius, an awe inspiring trend setter (every single track ever composed by Rahman carries his stamp!), a tireless professional, the First and ONLY Sound Designer India ever had - Sridhar sir now sleeps in silence! But listen well and you can hear the walls of Media Artistes weep. How can we, who are but mere mortals escape it?!