Balamani Amma
Nalapat Balamani Amma (19 July 1909 – 29 September 2004) was an Indian poet who wrote in Malayalam. Amma (Mother), Muthassi (Grandmother), and Mazhuvinte Katha (The story of the Axe) are some of her well-known works. She was a recipient of many awards and honours, including the Padma Bhushan, Saraswati Samman, Sahitya Akademi Award, and Ezhuthachan Award.
Also recorded as Bik · Nalapat Balamani Amma · Balamani Nair
Balamani Amma
Sreedharantp at Malayalam Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Born
- 1909. · Punnayurkulam.
- Nationality
- India, British Raj and Dominion of India.
- Occupation
- poet and writer.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Nalapat Balamani Amma (19 July 1909 – 29 September 2004) was an Indian poet who wrote in Malayalam. Amma (Mother), Muthassi (Grandmother), and Mazhuvinte Katha (The story of the Axe) are some of her well-known works. She was a recipient of many awards and honours, including the Padma Bhushan, Saraswati Samman, Sahitya Akademi Award, and Ezhuthachan Award.
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Balamani Amma (1909–2004) was a poet and writer and a national of the British Raj and the Dominion of India. Born in Punnayurkulam, the poet died in Kochi. Balamani Amma received Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, Padma Bhushan and Sahitya Akademi Award in Malayalam, among others.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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In this article
Biography
Biography
She was the mother of writer Kamala Das, also known as Madhavikutty.
Balamani Amma was born on 19 July 1909 to Chittanjoor Kunhunni Raja and Nalapat Kochukutti amma at Nalappat, her ancestral home in Punnayurkulam, Ponnani taluk, Malabar District, British India. Balamani got her family name, Nalapat. She was influenced by Nalapat Narayana Menon and the poet Vallathol Narayana Menon. At age 19, Amma married V. M. Nair, who became the managing director and managing editor of Mathrubhumi, a widely circulated Malayalam newspaper, and later an executive at an automobile company. She left for Kolkata after her marriage to live with her husband. V. M. Nair died in 1977. Amma was the mother of writer Kamala Surayya, (also known as Kamala Das), 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. Amma died on 29 September 2004 after five years of Alzheimer's disease. Her cremation was attended with full state honours.
Poetry
Poetry
Balamani Amma published more than 20 anthologies of poems, several prose works, and translations. Her first poem "Kooppukai" was published in 1930. Her first recognition came when she received the Sahithya Nipuna Puraskaram, an award from Parikshith Thampuran, former ruler of Kingdom of Cochin. Nivedyam is the collection of poems of Balamani Amma from 1959 to 1986. Lokantharangalil is an elegy on the death of the poet Nalapat Narayana Menon.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1909
Balamani Amma was born on 19 July 1909.
2004
Balamani Amma died on 29 September 2004.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Punnayurkulam.
Birth place
Kochi.
Death place
Legacy
The Kochi International Book Festival Committee created the Balamani Amma Award, with a cash award for writers. On 19 July 2022, Google honoured Amma with a Google Doodle on her birth anniversary. She has been referred to as "the grandmother of Malayalam literature".
Collections of poems
Collections of poems
• Kudumbini (1936) • Dharmamargathil (1938) • Sthree Hridayam (1939) • Prabhankuram (1942) • Bhavanayil (1942) • Oonjalinmel (1946) • Kalikkotta (1949) • Velichathil (1951) • Avar Paadunnu (1952) • Pranamam (1954) • Lokantharangalil (1955) • Sopanam (1958) • Muthassi (1962) • Mazhuvinte Katha (1966) • Ambalathilekku (1967) • Nagarathil (1968) • Veyilaarumbol (1971) • Amruthamgamaya (1978) • ’’Sahapadikal’’(1979) • Sandhya (1982) • Nivedyam (1987) • Mathruhridayam (1988) • To My Daughter (Malayalam) • Kulakkadavil • Mahavira
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Balamani Amma”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q3595448: Balamani Amma
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 1146195079, Balamani Amma.
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
- Library of Congress Name Authority File, Balamani Amma, 1909-2004 (USE Bālāmaṇiyamma, 1909-2004) (n88147648).
General reference · Library of Congress
Awards and recognition
Her poetry earned her the titles of Amma (mother) and Muthassi (grandmother) of Malayalam poetry. While delivering the Balamaniyamma remembrance speech at the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, described her as the "prophet of human glory" and said that her poetry had been an inspiration to him. Writer and critic M. N. Karassery considered her a Gandhian, and believed her works should be revisited when people consider Nathuram Godse to represent Indian nationalism. She received many literary honours and awards, including the Kerala Sahithya Akademi Award for Muthassi (1963), Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award for Muthassi (1965), Asan Prize (1989), Vallathol Award (1993), Lalithambika Antharjanam Award (1993), Saraswati Samman for Nivedyam (1995), Ezhuthachan Award (1995), and N. V. Krishna Warrier Award (1997). She was also a recipient of India's third highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan, in 1987. She is often regarded as the ‘Mathruthwathinte Kavi’ (poetess of motherhood’ or ‘Muttassi’ (grandmother), due to her fondness for children.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.George, K. M. Western influence on Malayalam language and literature. Sahitya Akademi. 132. 1998. 978-81-260-0413-3.
- 2.Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Padma Awards. 2015.
- 3.Government of Kerala. Literary Awards.
- 4.Weisbord, Merrily. The Love Queen of Malabar: Memoir of a Friendship with Kamala Das. McGill-Queen's University Press. 116. 2010. 978-0-7735-3791-0.
- 5.Jadia, Varun. This List of India's Most Gifted Women Poets Is Sure to Bring Some Enchantment in Your Life. The Better India. May 29, 2016.
- 6.Azheekode, Sukumar. Balamaniamma.
- 7.TNN. Kamala Das passes away. Times of India. June 1, 2009.
- 8.Fox, Margalit. Kamala Das, Indian Poet and Memoirist, Dies at 75. The New York Times. June 13, 2009.
- 9.Balamani Amma. veethi.com.
- 10.Balamani Amma no more. Indian Express. 30 September 2004.
- 11.Kerala bids farewell to Balamani Amma. Times of India. PTI. September 30, 2004.
- 12.A prolific writer. The Hindu. 30 September 2004.
- 13.Malayala Manorama. Balamaniamma.
- 14.Balamaniyamma remembered. The Hindu. 8 October 2004.
- 15.Government of India. Padma Bhushan Awardees.
- 16.BU, Prathiksha. Nalapat Balamani Amma: Celebrate The Rebel Poet Of 20th Century!. Women's Web. 2021-07-19.
- 17.Balamani Amma Award presented to Padmanabhan. The Hindu. December 6, 2019.
- 18.Express News Service. Balamani Amma award presented to Mohanavarma. The New Indian Express. December 6, 2017.
- 19.Balamani Amma: Google Doodle celebrates Malayalam poet's 113th birth anniversary. The Indian Express. 19 July 2022.
- 20.Google doodle celebrates Balamani Amma's 113th birth anniversary. The Hindu. July 19, 2022.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 1146195079, Balamani Amma.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessauthority file
Library of Congress Name Authority File, Balamani Amma, 1909-2004 (USE Bālāmaṇiyamma, 1909-2004) (n88147648).Library of Congress
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
People, houses and institutions
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Citizenship
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