Born on February 28, 1969, in Palakol in Andhra Pradesh, U. Srinivas is 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.