Nalapat Balamani Amma was an Indian poet who wrote in Malayalam. She was born on July 19, 1909, and passed away on September 29, 2004. Today’s Google Doodle is celebrating the 113th birth anniversary of Balamani Amma, known as the “poetess of motherhood”. 

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She was born in Kerala to Chittanjoor Kunhunni Raja and Nalapat Kochukutti Amma at Nalappat, her ancestral home at Ponnani taluk, Malabar District, British India. She did not receive any formal education. She was homeschooled by her maternal uncle Nalappat Narayan Menon, who was also a popular Malayali poet. She grew up studying his collection of books and works. 

Balamani Amma married V M Nair at the age of 19. V M Nair became the managing director and managing editor of the Malayalam newspaper Mathrubhumi. She moved to Kolkata to live with her husband. 

Her first poem titled ‘Kooppukai’ was published in 1930. She received recognition as a gifted poet from the former ruler of the Kingdom of Cochin, Parikshit Thampuran. He awarded her with Sahitya Nipuna Puraskaram. Her poems earned her the title of ‘Amma’ (mother) and ‘Muthassi’ (grandmother) of Malayalam Poetry according to Google Doodle. 

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She was the winner of numerous awards and accolades like the Ezhuthachan Award, Sahitya Akademi Award, Padma Bhushan and Saraswati Samman. She was also the mother of Kamla Das, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1984. 

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More than 20 anthologies of poetry, translations and prose comprise her work. She began composing poetry from a very young age. Her collection of poems in the book ‘Nivedyam’ was released between 1959 and 1986. She also composed an elegy in memory of her maternal uncle, Nalappat Narayan Menon. 

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Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, an Indian poet described Balamani Amma as the “prophet of human glory” and said that her poetry had been an inspiration to him. Amma died on September 29, 2004, after five years of Alzheimer’s disease.