Google Doodle is celebrating the 113th birth anniversary of Balamani Amma, who is popularly known as the ‘amma’ (mother) and ‘muthassi’ (grandmother), of Malayalam poetry today, 19 July. On this day in 1909, ‘Amma’ was born in Nalapat, her ancestral home in Thrissur district's Punnayurkulam.
She was the recipient of various awards and honours including the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Saraswati Samman for Nivedyam and the Padma Vibhushan; among other honours. The doodle illustration has been made by Kerala-based artist Devika Ramachandran.
It is to be noted that Amma did not receive any formal training or education, but was instead taught at home by her uncle Nalappat Narayana Menon, who was also a renowned Malayali poet. Menon had a good collection of books and works that Amma studied from a young age. When she was 19, Amma got married to V.M. Nair, the managing director and managing editor of Malayalam newspaper Mathrubhumi.
Balamani Amma’s first poem, titled Kooppukai, was published in 1930. She got recognition as a gifted poet from the former ruler of the Kingdom of Cochin, Parikshith Thampuran, who honoured her with the Sahithya Nipuna Puraskaram.
Her works took inspiration from the stories of mythological characters, but presented women as powerful figures who remained ordinary human beings. Among her famous works were Muthassi, (1962) Amma (1934) and Mazhuvinte Katha (1966). She was also known as the "poetess of motherhood" as her early works glorified motherhood in a new light.
Amma’s daughter, Kamala Das, who became a noted writer in her own right, translated one of her mother's poems, The Pen, which described the pain and loneliness felt by a mother. Kamala Das was nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature in the year 1984.
Balamani Amma received a number of awards, and published more than 20 anthologies of prose, poetry, and translations. Amma passed away in 2004 and was cremated with full state honours.
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