Balamani Amma is known as the mother of Malayalam literature. Balamani Amma, who was born in the Keralan region of Thrissur, has won a number of honours for her writing, including the Saraswati Samman and the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honour. Kamala Das, who was nominated for the 1984 Nobel Prize in literature, was also born to Balamani Amma.