Suresh Kumar is the foremost disciple of the Mandolin Wizard, Maestro U Shrinivas. He pursues two diverse professions – one as a legal counsel & company secretary and the other as a musician.

His career in music began in the early eighties at the age of 12 when he started performing as a western lead guitarist.  Mesmerized by the musical prowess of Mandolin U Shrinivas, he was attracted towards the mandolin and Classical Carnatic Music.  He went on at the age of 15 to become the foremost disciple of the maestro, and has had the rare privilege of learning from the Mandolin Samraat in the modern-day equivalent of the traditional “Guru-Shishya Paramparaa”.  He also learned Carnatic Vocal Music from Mrs Raji Shrinivasan.

Suresh Kumar has given a number of performances in Mumbai and in South India – “Classical Nite” of the Mood Indigo Festival at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai Young Artistes’ Festival of the Indian Music Group at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai; performances in the presence of Shri Veerendra Heggade at Dharmasthala (Mangalore) and H.H. Maataaji Nirmalaa Devi, being some of the prominent ones.  He regularly performs on the All India Radio, has performed on Chennai Doordarshan (television channel) and works on commercial recordings too.

Suresh Kumar’s innovative approach to music, his adherence to bhaava (the feeling and emotions of the composer expressed through the composition), his gaayaki (“vocal-equivalent”) style of playing the mandolin, and his judicious use of western fingering techniques such as the two-handed tapping in Classical Carnatic mandolin playing, have found acclaim with both connoisseurs of music and the media.

Suresh Kumar has, for the first time in the world, introduced bass guitar as an accompaniment to Classical Carnatic Music.  For this, he has after considerable research and analysis, developed a new system in bass guitar playing.  This system uses melody as the basis for composition of the bass notes instead of the chord patterns, and aims at a judicious blend of the Jeeva Swaraas (core notes) of Raagas (musical scales) and the complex laya (rhythm) patterns of the Classic Canratic Music. 

His other interests in music include ‘Jugalbandi’s (in a sense, a fusion of two styles of music) (Carnatic-North Indian Classical) and fusion music (Carnatic-Western).  He also teaches Classical Carnatic Music on the mandolin.


Suresh Kumar was honoured by Jagadguru Shri Shankaraacharya of Shringeri, at a performance in the performance in the presence of HIS Holiness at Mumbai. He has been conferred the title of Sur Mani by Sur Singaar Samsad, Mumbai. He has also been featured in "Musicians of the Decade" a detailed article in Sruti , one of the leading periodical dedicated to indian Classical Music.

Koel Music of Pune (www.koelmusic.com) has in the year 2004-05 released an innovative album of Suresh Kumar titled "Meditative Mandolin" which features traditional Carnatic compositions played with a meditative interpretation.