Balamani Amma Biography, Age, Poems, Books and Daughter

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Balamani Amma

About Balamani Amma: The 113th birthday of renowned Indian poet Balamani Amma, referred to as the “grandmother of Malayalam literature,” was commemorated by a Google Doodle. Balamani Amma, who was born in the Keralan region of Thrissur, has won a number of honours for her writing, including the Saraswati Samman and the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour. Kamala Das, who was nominated for the 1984 Nobel Prize in literature, was also born to Balamani Amma.

Balamani Amma Biography

Indian poet Nalapat Balamani Amma authored in the Malayalam language. Her best-known pieces include Amma (Mother), Muthassi (Grandmother), and Mazhuvinte Katha (The Story of the Axe). She was the winner of numerous honours and accolades, including the Ezhuthachan Award, Sahitya Akademi Award, Padma Bhushan, and Saraswati Samman. She was the mother of Kamala Surayya, a writer.

At the age of 19, Amma wed V.M. Nair, who later worked as an executive for an automobile manufacturer and rose to the positions of managing director and managing editor of the widely read Malayalam newspaper Mathrubhumi.
After her marriage, she moved to Kolkata to live with her husband. In 1977, V.M. Nair perished.
Balamani Amma was the mother of Kamala Surayya, a writer who also goes by the name Kamala Das.
Amma’s poem “The Pen,” which explores a mother’s loneliness, was translated by Kamala Surayya.
Daughter Sulochana and son Shyam Sunder are some of her other kids.
After suffering from Alzheimer’s for five years, Balamani Amma passed away on September 29, 2004. She was cremated with full state honours present.

Balamani Amma Age

Balamani Amma was born on 19 July 1909 and she passed away on 29 September 2004, and hence she died at the age of 95 years. Nalappat, her ancestral house in Punnayurkulam, Ponnani taluk, Malabar District, British India, is where Chittanjoor Kunhunni Raja and Nalapat Kochukutti amma gave birth to Balamani Amma. She received little formal schooling, but her maternal uncle’s guidance and his library of books helped her develop as a poet. Nalapat Narayana Menon and Vallathol Narayana Menon, a poet, had an impact on her.

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Balamani Amma Daughter

Kamala Surayya was the daughter of Balamani Amma. Kamala Surayya, also known by her married name Kamala Das and former pen name Madhavikutty, was an Indian author and poet from Kerala, India. She published works in both Malayalam and English. She was born on March 31, 1934, and she passed away on May 31, 2009. While her English works, published under the pen name Kamala Das, are best known for the poems and explicit autobiography, her fame in Kerala is primarily based on her short tales and autobiography. She also authored a popular column on a variety of subjects, such as politics, women’s issues, and child care. She was an iconoclast in the popular culture of her generation due to her liberal depiction of female sexuality. At the age of 75, she passed away at Pune’s Jehangir Hospital on May 31, 2009.

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Balamani Amma Images

Balamani Amma with daughter Kamala Surayya

Balamani Amma

Balamani Amma Poems and Books

More than 20 poetry anthologies, numerous prose works, and translations were all published by Balamani Amma. In 1930, “Kooppukai,” her debut poem, was released. When she was given the Sahithya Nipuna Puraskaram by Parikshith Thampuran, the former king of the Kingdom of Cochin, she first gained attention. Balamani Amma’s collection of poems from 1959 to 1986 is titled Nivedyam. An elegy written in memory of the poet Nalapat Narayana Menon, Lokantharangalil.

Some of Balamani Amma’s best poems are given in the table below:

Year	Poem
1936	Kudumbini (The Home-Maker)
1938	Dharmamargatthil
1939	Sthreehrdayam (A Woman’s Heart)
1942	Bhavanayil
1942	Prabhankuram
1946	Oonjalil (On the Swing)
1949	Kalikkotta (The Toy Basket)
1951	Velichathil (In the Light)
1952	Avar Padunnu (They Sing)
1954	Pranaman (Homage)
1955	Lokantarangalil (In Many Worlds)
1958	Sopanam
1962	Muttassi (Grandmother)
1966	Mazhuvinte katha
1967	Ambalathil (In the Temple)
1968	Nagarathil
1971	Veyilaarumbol
1978	Amruthamgamaya
1987	Nivedyam
1988	Mathruhridayam

Balamani Amma Awards and recognition

Balamani Amma was given the names Amma and Muthassi in Malayalam poetry because of Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri referred to Balamaniyamma as the “prophet of human grandeur” and mentioned how her poetry had inspired him in his address honouring her at the Kerala Sahitya Akademi. She was a Gandhian, according to writer and critic M. N. Karassery, and her writings ought to be reexamined in light of the perception that Nathuram Godse embodies Indian nationalism.

Asan Prize (1989), Vallathol Award (1993), Lalithambika Antharjanam Award (1993), Saraswati Samman for Nivedyam (1995), Ezhuthachan Award (1995), Kerala Sahithya Akademi Award for Muthassi (1963), Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award for Muthassi (1965), Kerala Sahithya Akademi Award for Muthassi (1965), Kendra Sahitya Akadem (1997). She also received the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour, in 1987.

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Balamani Amma: FAQs

Ques. Who is known as mother of Malayalam literature?

Ans. Balamani Amma is known as the mother of Malayalam literature. Balamani Amma, who was born in the Keralan region of Thrissur, has won a number of honours for her writing, including the Saraswati Samman and the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour. Kamala Das, who was nominated for the 1984 Nobel Prize in literature, was also born to Balamani Amma.

Ques. When did Balamani Amma got ezhuthachan award?

Ans. She received the Saraswati Samman in 1995 for “Nivedyam” and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1965 for “Muthassi.” Asan Prize (1989), Vallathol Award (1993), Lalithambika Antharjanam Award (1993), Ezhuthachan Award (1995), and Kendra Sahitya Akademi are just a few of the notable literary honours (1997).

Ques. Who is the daughter of Balamani Amma?

Ans. Kamala Surayya is the daughter of Balamani Amma. She is also known by her married name Kamala Das and former pen name Madhavikutty, was a poet and author from Kerala, India, who wrote both in Malayalam and English.

Ques. Who is the uncle of Balamani Amma?

Ans. Nalappat Narayana Menon is Balamani Amma’s uncle. Balamani Amma never attended school in a formal setting. Her uncle Nalappat Narayana Menon, a well-known Malayali poet, tutored her at home.

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