Balamani Amma | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1909-07-19)19 July 1909 Punnayurkulam,Ponnani taluk,Malabar District,Madras Presidency,British India (Now inThrissur) |
| Died | 29 September 2004(2004-09-29) (aged 95) Kochi,Kerala,India |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Notable awards | Padma Bhushan,Sahitya Akademi Award,Saraswati Samman,Asan Prize,Ezhuthachan Award |
| Spouse | V. M. Nair |
| Children | Kamala Surayya, Sulochana, Mohandas, Shyam Sunder |
Nalapat Balamani Amma (19 July 1909 – 29 September 2004) was an Indianpoet who wrote inMalayalam.Amma (Mother),Muthassi (Grandmother), andMazhuvinte Katha (The story of the Axe) are some of her well-known works.[1] She was a recipient of many awards and honours, including thePadma Bhushan,[2]Saraswati Samman,Sahitya Akademi Award, andEzhuthachan Award.[3] She was the mother of writerKamala Surayya.[4]
Balamani Amma was born on 19 July 1909[5] to Chittanjoor Kunhunni Raja and Nalapat Kochukutti amma at Nalappat, her ancestral home inPunnayurkulam,Ponnani taluk,Malabar District,British India. She had no formal education, and the tutelage under her maternal uncle and his collection of books helped her become a poet.[6] She was influenced byNalapat Narayana Menon and the poetVallathol Narayana Menon.[7]
At age 19, Amma married V.M. Nair, who became themanaging director and managing editor ofMathrubhumi, a widely circulatedMalayalam newspaper,[5][8] and later an executive at an automobile company.[9] She left for Kolkata after her marriage to live with her husband.[10] V.M. Nair died in 1977.[10]
Amma was the mother of writerKamala Surayya, (also known as Kamala Das),[8] who translated one of her mother's poems, "The Pen", which describes the loneliness of a mother. Her other children include sons Mohandas, Shyam Sunder, and daughter Sulochana.[5]
Amma died on 29 September 2004 after five years ofAlzheimer's disease.[5] Her cremation was attended with full state honours.[11]
Balamani Amma published more than 20 anthologies of poems, several prose works, and translations. Her first poem "Kooppukai" was published in 1930.[7] Her first recognition came when she received the Sahithya Nipuna Puraskaram, an award fromParikshith Thampuran, former ruler ofKingdom of Cochin.Nivedyam is the collection of poems of Balamani Amma from 1959 to 1986.Lokantharangalil is an elegy on the death of the poetNalapat Narayana Menon.[12]
Her poetry earned her the titles ofAmma (mother) andMuthassi (grandmother) of Malayalam poetry.[5][13] While delivering the Balamaniyamma remembrance speech at theKerala Sahitya Akademi,Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, described her as the "prophet of human glory" and said that her poetry had been an inspiration to him.[14] Writer and criticM. N. Karassery considered her a Gandhian, and believed her works should be revisited when people considerNathuram Godse to represent Indian nationalism.[15]
She received many literary honours and awards, including theKerala Sahithya Akademi Award forMuthassi (1963),Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award forMuthassi (1965), Asan Prize (1989),Vallathol Award (1993),Lalithambika Antharjanam Award (1993),Saraswati Samman forNivedyam (1995), Ezhuthachan Award (1995), andN. V. Krishna Warrier Award (1997).[12] She was also a recipient of India's third highest civilian honour, thePadma Bhushan, in 1987.[16]
She is often regarded as the ‘Mathruthwathinte Kavi’ (poetess of motherhood’ or ‘Muttassi’ (grandmother), due to her fondness for children.[17]
The Kochi International Book Festival Committee created the Balamani Amma Award, with a cash award for writers.[15][18]
On 19 July 2022,Google honoured Amma with aGoogle Doodle on her birth anniversary.[19][20] She has been referred to as "the grandmother of Malayalam literature".[20]
balamani amma.
