K Omanakutty on Seven Decades of Musical Heritage and the Soul of Indian Classical Art

In a candid sit-down with The New Indian Express, veteran vocalist and guru K Omanakutty reflects on a seven-decade journey stitched across four generations of her family, and shares the philosophy behind her new book, 'Sangeethame Jeevitham' (music alone is life). The singer, who shaped the craft of K S Chithra and B Arundhati among thousands of students, makes one message clear: whether Carnatic or Hindustani, music has to come from the heart.

A timbre forged across four generations

What hits me first, even in transcript form, is how much Omanakutty's vocal lineage would have shaped her default timbre. Her grandfather Parameswaran Pillai was a serious singer; her father, Malabar Gopalan Nair, sang and played the harmonium for 'sangeetha natakam' theatre. Her mother trained at the music academy alongside Aranmula Ponnamma and Parassala Ponnammal. Her late brother M G Radhakrishnan composed, and her younger sibling M G Sreekumar went on to become a playback voice the whole country knows. That is not a casual inheritance — that is an ear trained on swara alignment, gamaka nuance and breath control since childhood, the kind of vocal texture you simply cannot fake.

Her own path bent unexpectedly. She took up zoology rather than music as her optional subject because, by her account, musicians had a hard time making ends meet. She still finished the degree and counts those batchmates among her closest friends today. Even her grandson Harisankar studied medicine before turning to music; his younger brother is a violinist. The pull of the craft, it seems, keeps winning.

The academy years and the stage she never wanted

Omanakutty is candid about never having much interest in playback singing. She cut just five or six film songs, all classical pieces, including one for 'Aaraam Thampuran'. Instead, the music academy — and her principal Semmangudi — pulled her firmly toward the concert stage. By her own telling, she began getting noticed through private prayer gatherings hosted by Mrs Pattom Thanu Pillai, where audiences included Nehru, Dr S Radhakrishnan, Rajendra Prasad and Indira Gandhi. A kacheri circuit run by Sajeevavani sharpened her into the performer she became.

That grounding shows up in how her students carry her lessons. Chithra and Arundhati's playback work shares a clarity of diction and raga phrasing that reads as academy-trained rather than studio-assembled — restraint, breath, and a refusal to oversing, all the way through a crescendo.

Where the music lives now

Omanakutty also speaks about a bond of nearly 65 years with Gowri Parvathi Bayi, struck in their Women's College zoology days when she sang for the royal's dance-drama role while her brother Radhakrishnan composed for the hero. It is the kind of detail that anchors classical music in lived memory rather than stage mythology.

For listeners discovering her recordings today, the experience is less about a single track and more about a body of work. As more fans compare their smart home entertainment options to build a proper playback chain for live classical recordings, her voice is a timely reminder that fidelity is not just technical — it is emotional. And her central message, as The New Indian Express frames it — "Music, be it Carnatic or Hindustani, must come from the heart" — is exactly what seven decades on stage make audible.