Google on Tuesday paid tributes to famous Malayalam poet Balamani Amma on her 113th birth anniversary with a special doodle illustrated by Kerala-based artist Devika Ramachandran.
Balamani was a recipient of multiple awards, including the Saraswati Samman – India’s most esteemed literary award – and Padma Vibhushan – India’s second-highest civilian award. She published more than 20 anthologies of poetry, prose, and translations. Her first poem “Kooppukai” was published in 1930.
The doodle shows the poet sitting by a window and composing a poem. Several books can be seen in the scene.
Today’s #GoogleDoodle celebrates the 113th birthday of Balamani Amma, an Indian poet who received India’s highest literary award without any formal training.
Learn more about the grandmother of Malayalam literature here → https://t.co/0aF36wjZ8k pic.twitter.com/TbprKZjVZr
— Google Doodles (@GoogleDoodles) July 18, 2022
Who was Balamani Amma?
Known as the grandmother of Malayalam literature, Balamani Amma was born on July 19, 1909, in Nalapat, her ancestral home in Punnayurkulam located in Kerala’s Thrissur district.
She never received any formal training or education but was instead schooled at home by her uncle Nalappat Narayana Menon, who was also a popular Malayali poet. He had an impressive collection of books and works that Balamani studied at a young age.
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.
The Kochi International Book Festival Committee created the Balamani Amma Award, a cash award for writers. She has been referred to as “the grandmother of Malayalam literature”
