K Omanakutty

Born in 1943 in Harippad, Alleppey district of Kerala, Shrimati K. Omanakutty Amma belongs to a family of musicians and was initially groomed by her father, Shri Malabar Gopalan Nair. Later, she honed her skills under the tutelage of Shri Semmangudi Sreenivasa Iyer, Shri G.N. Balasubramaniam, and Shri Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma. A top-grade artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan, Shrimati K. Omanakutty Amma was associated with several prestigious organizations and institutions such as Sangeeta Bharati, Thiruvananthapuram; Department of Music, University of Kerala; and Government College of Women, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. She has nurtured numerous prominent musicians in India and abroad. Shrimati K. Omanakutty Amma has many recordings to her credit. She has authored several books and articles on musicology, music pedagogy, and the technical aspects of Carnatic music. For her services to music, Shrimati K. Omanakutty Amma has been honoured with many prestigious awards and titles from various institutions including the Augustine Joseph Award; the Best Classical Music Singer award by Akashvani-Doordarshan in 1990; the Madras Music Academy Award for senior performing artists in 1997; the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 1997; and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship (2012). Shrimati K. Omanakutty Amma receives the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for her contribution to Carnatic vocal music.