THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Malayalam’s very own Balamani Amma’s soulful poetry found a resonance across the globe on Tuesday when Google came up with a special doodle on the late poet, popularly known as the doyen of Malayalam poetry. On her 113th birthday on Tuesday, Google paid rich tribute to Malayalam poetry’s grandma with a doodle illustration by Kerala-based artist Devika Ramachandran. The doodle shows Balamani Amma sitting with a cup of hot filter coffee, surrounded by books on the verandah of an old traditional Kerala house balanced on a wonderfully crafted violet lotus at the base, creating an alluring imagery.
In her poems, she has depicted the plight of motherhood in a patriarchal society and tried to delve into the deeper inner-self of women characters. She depicted women as powerful characters and glorified motherhood through her poems.“Balamani Amma’s poems are not just limited to the description of a mother’s affection juxtaposed with a patriarchal society. But her poems also reveal the women’s domestic scuffle within the four corners of the home,” said Malayalam critic P K Rajesakharan.
Balamani Amma was the recipient of several awards and honours, including India’s acclaimed literary awards like Saraswati Samman 1995 and Sahitya Akademi Award 1965, and Padma Vibhushan in 1987. Balamani Amma is the mother of acclaimed poet Kamala Surayya who translated her mother’s poem ‘The Pen’, which dwells on the loneliness of a mother.
In 1930, at the age of 21, she published her first poem ‘Kooppukai’.She received her first recognition as a gifted poet from the ruler of Cochin, Parikshit Thampuaran, who awarded her the Sahithya Nipuna Puraskaram.At the tender age of 19, she was married to V M Nair, managing director and editor of ‘Mathrubhumi’ newspaper. Balamani Amma died in 2004.
Balamani Amma was born in her ancestral home in Thrissur district on July 19, 1909. She never received formal education or training, but was home-schooled by her uncle Nalapat Narayana Menon, also an acclaimed Malayalam poet. It was her uncle’s library and large collection of books that influenced her poetic self.