Balamani Amma

Poet

Padmabhushan Nalappat Balamani Amma (19 July 1909 - 29 September 2004) was a Malayali poet. Considered by many to be one of the best Malayali poets, she won the highest literary medal in India, the Saraswathi Samman. She was married to newspaper editor, V.M. Nair, and was the mother of the writer Kamala Das who has translated one of her mother's poems, "The Pen", which describes the loneliness of a mother. While delivering the Balamaniyamma remembrance speech at the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Akkitham Achuthan Namboodiri, described her as the "prophet of human glory" adding that her poetry had been an inspiration to him.