Mysore/Mysuru: Srinivas Bhat, fondly called as Cheeni Mama, who was associated with Rangayana since its inception as music teacher and continued to teach even after retiring officially, passed away at his residence in city on Wednesday night. He was 63.
He leaves behind his wife Suchetha, son Giridas Bhat and a host of relatives and friends.
Known to have carried forward the legacy of B.V. Karanth, Cheeni, son late Tabla Das Bhat and Girija Bhat, a native of Udupi, had worked with ‘Rathabeedhi Geleyaru’ in Udupi, then NINASAM (Neelakanteshwara Natya Sangha) in Heggod and had even formed music bands like Stoneage, Cheeni Melodies, MAGTOC [Mohammed, Ashoka, Ganesha, Tagore, Oscar and Cheeni] before moving into theatre. He has the credit of composing music for about 700 songs.
His body was kept for public viewing at Rangayana on Thursday where his students recited ‘Rangageethe’ as a tribute to him, followed by cremation at Gokulam crematorium.
Star of Mysore had published an interview of Srinivas Bhat titled “Tuning The Tuneless….: Cheeni takes Karanth’s legacy forward” on Feb. 16, 2018.
This post was published on January 28, 2023 7:58 pm