Google Doodle Celebrates Balamani Amma's 113th Birthday
Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Kerala-based artist Devika Ramachandran, celebrates the 113th birthday of Balamani Amma, a famous Indian poet who was known as the grandmother of Malayalam literature—a language spoken in Kerala, India. On this day in 1909, she was born in Nalapat, her ancestral home in Punnayurkulam located in the Thrissur district. She was a recipient of countless awards for her poetry including the Saraswati Samman—the nation’s most esteemed literary award—and Padma Vibhushanthe—the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India.
Amma got no official education or training and was instead educated at home by her uncle Nalappat Narayana Menon, a prominent Malayali poet. He possessed an outstanding collection of books and works, which Amma had studied since she was a child. At the age of 19, she married V.M. Nair, the managing director and managing editor of the Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi.
Amma released her first poetry, Kooppukai, at the age of 21 in 1930. Her initial acknowledgment as a brilliant poet came from Parikshith Thampuran, the previous monarch of the Kingdom of Cochin, who bestowed the Sahithya Nipuna Puraskaram on her.
Amma read a lot of Indian mythology, thus her poetry often took a unique slant on how traditionally we think of feminine characters. She became renowned as the "poetess of motherhood" since her early poems presented parenthood in a fresh way. Her tales and ideas were adapted into her writings, yet she portrayed women as strong individuals who nevertheless had common human traits. Amma (1934), Muthassi (1962), and Mazhuvinte Katha are some of her most well-known compositions (1966).
In addition to publishing more than 20 collections of poetry, prose, and translations, Balamani Amma was the recipient of several honors. She was also the mother of Kamala Das, a 1984 Nobel Prize nominee for literature. Amma died away in 2004, and full state honors were accorded to her cremation. She was given the names Amma (Mother) and Muthassi (Grandmother) of Malayalam poetry for her poems that expressed her affection for her children and grandkids.
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Happy birthday, Balamani Amma!
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