Radha Namboodiri is making up for lost years. For a little more than three decades with All India Radio and Doordarshan (1975-2006), the Mumbai-based Carnatic vocalist and revered teacher was engrossed in her mission of passing on the legacy of her guru Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer to a new generation of students of Carnatic music. Initiated into music by T V Ramamurthy, Radha was trained by doyens like T M Tyagarajan and T Brinda before joining Central College of Carnatic Music in Madras [Chennai].

Post retirement, Radha served as Director and Principal of Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha, Mumbai, and as the editor of its journal, Shanmukha . She was honoured with the Sangita Kala Acharya title by the Madras Music Academy and the Dr. M.S. Subbulakshmi Sangeetha Pracharya title by the Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts & Sangeetha Sabha this year. Radha recently performed at Tripunthura as part of an event in commemoration of Neyyattinkara Vasudevan, organised jointly by Manirang and Sree Poornathrayeesa Sangeetha Sabha.