KOCHI: The soft music that flows from her is not her own, yet it packs all that she is — elegant and strong. Rear Admiral (retd) Nirmala Kannan attributes the traits to the era she grew up in — the 60s when there were tonnes of hope after years of social compromises. There was also a melange of cultures as winds from across the globe crisscrossed with the Indian ways.
Youngsters like her took in the air aplenty to fly their hopes high. Their fashion trends were emerging with bell bottoms co-existing with salwars and sarees. There was also music around, the East and the far West remaining wedded in the cultural landscape without much ado.
It was in this milieu that Nirmala found herself tuning on to the radio almost every evening. Her taste in music was organic, fuelled by her upbringing in Coonoor where her father was posted as an Army person and influenced by the Anglo-Indian communities who were into music that came right from the minds of greats such as Bob Dylan, Beatles, Tina Turner and more. It was the Woodstock era — something that shaped the musical acumen of Nirmala and her sisters Asha and Nirupama (who later became a diplomat and retired as India’s foreign secretary).
Nirmala then grew up to be a doctor and later joined Indian Navy. With several firsts to her credit, including being the mentor of the first batch of women personnel inducted in 1992. She rose in the ranks and retired in 2013 as a Rear Admiral.
For her illustrious service, she was awarded the .
