Dr. Omanakutty is a very senior music artiste from Kerala. Today, she is also a respected guru. She was in Chennai recently to give an endowment lecture at the Dept. of Music, University of Madras. She spoke to Revathi R of Kutcheribuzz and shared her experiences of over four decades.

Take us back to the time when you were introduced to music . . .
I come from a family of musicians and I am the fourth generation artiste in the family. My father was a good musician and my mother - a disciple of Muthiah Bhagavathar and my brother M.G.Radhakrishnan, who is also a disciple of Semmangudi sir, were instrumental in initiating me to Carnatic music. Actually I sang in public at the age of 10 and my father accompanied on the harmonium. But it was 'kuttikkali' (childhood pastime). And it was only after I joined Swati Tirunal College of Music (Thiruvananthapuram) I took music seriously. (I did this) because there was no compulsion from my parents or from anybody else to sing or to go to music classes. In fact I am a science graduate!

Why did you take to music?
Immediately after completing my degree, I realised this subject was not of my interest. When I wanted to join the B.A. Music course at Swati Tirunal College of Music, my parents permitted me to go ahead though initially my mother wanted me to become a doctor in medicine!

And now you hold a doctorate in music!
Yes, but all this happened only because of Semmangudi sir. When I was in the third year at Swati Tirunal College of Music, I sang the prayer at a function to honour the Sangeeth Natak Akademi awardees and Semmangudi sir, waspresent in the first row. After the function, he enquired with my brother Radhakrishnan (who has been learning from him at that time), about the 'girl' who sang the prayer. He was surprised to know that I was his sister. The very next day, he had a long chat with my father and almost ordered my father. He told him,'Don't let her do any other subject, she belongs to music!'

This was the turning point in my career. Semmangudi sir got me exemption from attending the diploma course and helped me secure admission directly to the 'Gaana Pravina' course.

For two years, in Thiruvanathapuram, I trained under Semmangudi Sir, and then under GNB Sir. Though the two styles were totally different, both were excellent gurus. The teaching methods and the way they interacted with the students were exactly similar. With them, the atmosphere was like a 'gurukulam'; there was no restriction in class timings - there were times when the music class used to continue for more than three hours!

All this took place in 1960s. Were women-musicians encouraged in Kerala then?
People in Kerala were not all that orthodox as they were in Tamilnadu at that time. There were many women, performing music and dance on stage and the Swati Thirunal College of Music for women was the famous college at that time too. But women were contented with the opportunities they had within the state and did not try very much to come out to become 'known' musicians. But this is true even today. Few musicians from Kerala move out.

There are many who moved out and become famous . . . Palghat K.V. Narayanaswamy, Prof.T.N. Krishnan, Parur Sundaram Iyer (Father of violinists M.S. Gopalakrishnan and M.S.Anantharaman), M.D. Ramanathan, Palai C.K. Ramachandran, Neyyantinkara Vasudevan, Mathangi Satyamoorthy, Kollam Balamuralikrishna, Bhavana Radhakrishna . . . Kerala today has many good artistes. But they are not encouraged in other states.

Tell us about your first kutcheri . . .
Though I have been singing from the age of 10, I started giving kutcheris only after completing my Gaana Pravina course, when I was already 22 years old. Not at a very young age. I was a regular singer in temple festivals and functions during festive occasions like Onam.

Why did you go on to concentrate more in teaching music?
At the age of 22, I was appointed lecturer in the Swati Tirunal College of music. I liked my job very much. In those days, a basic degree with 'Gaana Pravina' was sufficient for teaching music at the college level. Nowadays, the university regulations require a M.Phil to apply for any post at the college. I could see lots of talent among my students and teaching them was a learning experience for me. I could discover the nuances of our music along with my students. In fact, I did a M.A. course with my students! I even wrote the exam with them! Then I went on to do Ph.d in music - on Kathakali music, which is peculiar and different from rendering Carnatic style of music. With this doctorate, I applied to the university for professorship and I served there for about 5 1/2 years.

Tell us about your family...
I met my husband, Gopinathan Nair, in All India Radio, Trivandrum, where he worked as an engineer. He is very fond of music and he proposed to me because of my interest in music! After marriage, he has been very supportive. That's why I am here today! It was only after marriage I went on an overseas music tour with my brother and my husband took complete care of my daughter and our home. My only daughter is presently doing a M.P.A course (Master of Performing Arts) at the University of Kerala. Son-in-law, Alappey Srikumar is a musician and the grandsons are talented in music, especially the elder grandson, Harisankar, who is 11 years old - he has a music cassette to his name.

Now that you have retired from the services, what are your plans for the future?
I have already started an institution - Sangeetha Bharati, a charitable society, to teach classical music. It is affiliated to Mother Teresa University. There are more than 250 students learning at this institute. Apart from Carnatic music, Hindustani and folk music of Kerala are also taught here. M.A and M.Phil. classes are also conducted. I bought books worth more than Rs.30,000 for the institution from Madras today (March 2005).

Even before retirement, I was teaching music to CCRT scholarship students privately. Playback singer Chitra is my student. She used to be my vocal support for about five years. After she got a chance to sing in films, she moved on. Once you go to films, it is difficult to come back to this field!

Are your sishyas doing well?
To mention a few . . . Reshmi is a lecturer in the University of Madras, Arundati, who performed at The Music Academy this year, Uma, who is from the Royal family and now wrking with AIR, Trivandrum, and Sindhu, who is also a lecturer in a college at Trivandrum and many more.

What is the difference between the styles of teaching in your days with Semmangudi and the present?
There is no difference in teaching except the time restrictions. But there is a difference in the audience. In those days, very few sabhas existed and the audience used to sit throughout the concert and enjoy. These days, TV serials keep them away from a three-hour long concert. People just walk-in and leave! That is why cassettes and CDs are popular these days.

I have released six CDs on Swati Tirunal's compositions. They are on rare kritis, popular kritis, exclusive Ragamalikas, Navarathri Kritis, Navavidha Bhakti and Tillanas. Only one Tillana of Swati Tirunal is popular. I want to bring out the others to the kutcheris. I have recently released a CD of lullabies. I like the famous lullaby 'Omanathingal kidao' by Iraiyimman Thampi, for its lyrics, and researched on other lullabies. I set the tunes for some, where they were not originally available.

You have recorded Christian devotional songs. . .
These songs are all in classical Carnatic style composed by the famous composers, K.B.Simon and Mosavalsalam Sastry (a violinist and a Christian by religion, but the people of Kerala gave him the title 'sastry' for his 'vidwat' in composing; just like Higgins Bhagavathar to John. B. Higgins)

When I was seven years old, I was inspired by a Christian devotional song sung by the veteran singer P.Leela. Since then, I started to look for those songs and learnt them as they came with Raga, Tala and notations set by the composers! For me God is one. I have even sung a song on Allah at Sharjah for the local audience - in Carnatic style.

Do you sing these pieces in kutcheris?
Yes, but not in temple kutcheris. I sang one such song in the National Programme of Music (Doordarshan). Though they are not upto the standards of the sahitya structure of the Trinity or Swati Tirunal, they are not substandard. Some compositions are higher than the standard of Tukkadas!

You are very concerned about the talented musicians from Kerala. What can be done?
Carnatic music is South Indian music and not Tamilnadu music or Kerala music. People from other states and cities should come forward to encourage real talent across the borders. Nowadays, we have TV and radio and can spot the talent from any place.