THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: TP Radhamani, a veteran of the radio era who lent her voice for numerous popular radio dramas, died here on Thursday evening. She was 84 and lived at Kailas Nagar, Poojappura. The cremation will be held at Santhi Kavadam on Friday. A former radio dubbing artist and announcer with the AIR, Radhamani is best known for her work in radio plays like ‘Chilapathikaram’, ‘Jarasanthante Puthri’, ‘Gandhari’ and ‘Umayamma Rani’. She was groomed as a singer and held a degree in music from the Swathi Tirunal College of Music, Thiruvananthapuram. But her destiny lay elsewhere.
In those days, she used to hold concerts on AIR and subsequently began performing in radio plays. The radio play ‘Karinizhal’ by Thirunainar Kurichi Madhavan Nair, in which she lent her voice to the heroine’s character, was a turning point. She received rave responses and went on to do more plays. She retired from AIR after serving 43 years.
Even after her retirement, she used to do programmes in AIR. Radhamani has also dubbed for nearly 60 films. She received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 1975. Radhamani was married to the late P Gangadharan Nair, a popular radio artist in his own right. She leaves behind children R Chandramohan, G R Sreekala, G R Kannan and G R Nandakumar.