Balamani Amma
Balamani Amma
Balamani Amma Google Doodle: Amma had no formal education, and was greatly influenced by her maternal uncle and his library. She published more than 20 anthologies of poems, along with other works including translations
Google on Tuesday celebrated acclaimed Indian poet Balamani Amma’s 113th birth anniversary with a special doodle dedicated to her. She continues to be known as the ‘amma’ (mother) and ‘muthassi’ (grandmother), of Malayalam poetry.
Amma was the recipient of various awards and honours like the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour, in 1987; the Sahitya Akademi Award for Muthassi in 1965; the Saraswati Samman for Nivedyam in 1995, among others.
Her other well-known works were Amma, Mazhuvinte Katha (The Story of the Axe), and Sandhya. Amma had no formal education, and was greatly influenced by her maternal uncle and his library. She published more than 20 anthologies of poems, along with other works including translations.
Amma’s other influences include Vallathol Narayana Menon, one of the triumvirate poets of modern Malayalam, and Nalapat Narayana Menon. She wrote an elegy for the latter, Lokantharangalil.
Amma has in turn served as an inspiration to later generations of Malayalam poets, a prominent example being Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri. The Kochi International Book Fair gives a cash prize for writers in her name, the Balamani Amma Award.
Her daughter, Kamala Das, would go on to become a celebrated author as well. Das’ autobiography Ente Katha (My Story) is one of the most popular and well-regarded works in 20th century Indian literature.
Balamani Amma: How Google Doodle is paying tribute to Malayalam poet on her 113th birth anniversary?
Google is celebrating the acclaimed Indian poet Balamani Amma on her 113th birth anniversary with a special doodle dedicated to her. Balamani Amma continues to be known as the ‘amma’ (mother) and ‘muthassi’ (grandmother) of Malayalam poetry and was the recipient of various awards and honours.
Balamani Amma Poems: Google on July 19, 2022, is celebrating the acclaimed Indian poet Balamani Amma on her 113th birth anniversary with a special doodle dedicated to her. Balamani Amma continues to be known as the ‘amma’ (mother) and ‘muthassi’ (grandmother) of Malayalam poetry. Poet Balamani Amma was the recipient of various awards and honours including Padma Bhushan in 1987, Sahitya Akademi Award in 1965, and Saraswati Samman in 1995.
Google Doodle celebrated Banamani Amma with an image of the poet where she can be seen sitting between the books and writing in a white saree. Balamani Amma has inspired generations of Malayalam poets. The Kochi International Book Fair gives a cash prize for the writers in her name, known as the Balamani Amma Award.
As Google Doodle honours Banamani Amma on her 113th birth anniversary, know more about her life, poems, and legacy that she has left for the generations to come.
Who was Balamani Amma?
Google Doodle on July 19, 2022, is celebrating the 113th birth anniversary of Balamani Amma, a famous Indian port who is also known as the Grandmother of Malayalam literature. She was born on this day in 1909 in Nalapat, her ancestral home in Punnayurkulam located in Thrissur District.
Balamani Amma was the recipient of multiple prestigious awards for poetry including the Saraswati Samman and Padma Bhushan.
Balamani Amma never received any formal training or education and was instead schooled at home by her uncle Nalappat Narayan Menon, who was also a popular Malayali Poet. At the age of 19, Balamani Amma married V.M. Nair, the Managing Director and the Managing Editor of Mathrubhumi, a Malayalam Newspaper.
Balamani Amma was also the mother of Kamala Das, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature in 1984. She passed away on September 29, 2004, in Kochi, Kerala at the age of 95.
Balamani Amma: Why is she known as Grandmother of Malayalam literature?
Balamani Amma, at the age of 21 in 1930 published her first poem titled ‘Kooppukai’. Her first recognition as a gifted poet came from the ruler of the Kingdom of Cochin, Parikshith Thampuran, who also awarded her with the Sahithya Nipuna Puraskaram.
As an avid reader of Indian Mythology, her poetry tends to put a spin on the traditional understanding of women characters. Balamani Amma’s early poems glorified motherhood in a new light and she became known as the ‘poetess of motherhood’.
Balamani Amma’s works adopted the ideas and the stories of mythological characters, however, depicted women as a powerful figure who remained ordinary human beings.
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