

KOCHI: The Balamani Amma Award was presented to writer M T Vasudevan Nair at the 18th Kochi International Book Festival being held at the Ernakulathappan Ground, here on Sunday.
The award was presented by Jnanpith Award winner and Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh. M T was selected for the award in recognition of his contributions to the literary field.
“He is one of the most talented writers of our time. The author and filmmaker in him cannot be seen as two different entities,” Singh said, recalling his memories of travelling with the author.
The award function began with a poetry recitation by N Ananthalakshmi. The function was presided over by author K L Mohana Varma.
“He has been the guiding factor for three generations. We are honouring ourselves by honouring an eminent personality like M T,” he said. E M Haridas, Sulochana Nalapat and P L Babu also spoke.