Leela Nambudiripad (16 May 1934 – 27 April 2021), known by her pen name Sumangala, was an Indian author of children's literature in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

. Some of her notable works included ''Neypaayasam, Mithayippoti,'' as well as translations of the ''

Panchatantra The ''Panchatantra'' (IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, sa, पञ्चतन्त्र, "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story.

'' into Malayalam. She was the recipient of the

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Children's Literature The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Children's Literature (also known as Sree Padmanabhaswamy Award for Children’s Literature) is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writin ...

in 1979 and the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award for Children's Literature in 2013.

Early life

Nambudripad was born on 16 May 1934 as the eldest daughter of eminent Sanskrit scholars

O M C Narayanan Nambudiripad O M C Narayanan Nambudiripad, an eminent Sanskrit scholar was born to the famous Nambudiri family of Olappamanna Mana on 24 June 1910 in Vellinezhi (Palakkad District, Kerala, India). He is known for his translation into Malayalam of the Rigveda ...

and Uma Antharjanam in

Vellinezhi Vellinezhi is a small but culturally crucial village located in Palakkad district of Kerala in southern India. Geography The sylvan, rugged land is located on the banks of the Kunti, a slender rivulet that forms tributary to the broad, west-f ...

(

Palakkad District Palakkad District () is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was carved out from the southeastern region of the former Malabar District on 1 January 1957. It is located at the centre of Kerala. It is the largest district i ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, India).

Career

Nambduripad started her career as a writer in 1959, writing under her pen name Sumangala. In a career of over 40 years, she was referred to as the

Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have be ...

and penned over 50 books, of which 23 are for children. Her most celebrated works include ''Mithayippoti'' (), ''Neypaayasam'' (), ''Manchaatikkuru'', ''Kurinjiyum Koottukaarum'', ''Ee Kattha Kettittundo'' (), ''Nadodi Cholkathakal'', ''Rahasyam'' and ''Kudamanikal''. She was most noted for her translation into Malayalam of the ''

''. Sumangala has also translated the '' Valmiki Ramayanam'' into Malayalam from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

. She also was the compiler of ''Pacha Malayala Nikhandu,'' a dictionary of colloquial Malayalam. The book was praised for its insights and diverse facts about the Malayalam language. She wrote a song for the Malayalam film ''

Chenda The Chenda ( ml, ചെണ്ട, ) is a cylindrical percussion instrument originating in the state of Kerala and widely used in Tulu Nadu of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in India. In Tulu Nadu (Coastal Karnataka), it is known as ''chende''. ...

'' (1973) and was also a contributor to '' Poompatta'', a Malayalam-language comic for children. She also wrote a book on the history of

Kerala Kalamandalam Kerala Kalamandalam, deemed to be University of Art and Culture by the Government of India, is a major center for learning Indian performing arts, especially those that developed in the Southern states of India, with the special emphasis on K ...

, a center for performing arts and learning in Kerala. Sumangala was the recipient of many awards, including the

Kerala Sahitya Akademi The Kerala Sahitya Akademi or Academy for Malayalam literature is an autonomous body established to promote the Malayalam language and Malayalam literature, literature. It is situated in City of Thrissur, Kerala in India. History The academy ...

Award for the best work in children's literature in 1979 and the Bala Sahitya Institute award for lifelong contribution towards children's literature in 1999. She was the recipient of the

Kendra Sahitya Academy Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

for

Children's Literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

in 2013. The Kerala Sahitya Akademi president

Vaisakhan M.K. Gopinathan Nair, popularly known as Vaisakhan, is an Indian short story writer, playwright, and screenwriter. , he is the President of Kerala Sahitya Akademi. His stories are known for their simplicity in style and freshness in theme. Many ...

praised her for leading generations of Malayalam children into the world of reading: her books instilled the importance of human values and were simple and readable for children. He compared the tone of her writing to that of a "grandmother telling stories to her grandchildren".

Personal life

Nambudiripad was married to Desamangalam Ashtamurthy Nambudiripad until his death in 2014. They had three children: Usha Nambudiripad, D. Narayanan and D. Ashtamurthy. She served in the Public Relations Department of

for 22 years. She resided in the town of

Wadakkancherry Wadakkancherry is a major town in Thrissur, Kerala. Up until 1860, this area was part of Chelakkara Taluk. Now, it is the headquarters of Talappilly Taluk. Wadakkanchery obtained municipality status from the government by merging with the Mu ...

in Thrissur District, in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Nambudiripad died on 27 April 2021 at her home in Wadakkancherry from age-related ailments, shortly before turning 87.

Works

_Source(s): * Nuṇakkul̲ikaḷ, cer̲ukathakaḷ (1967) * Kaṭamakaḷ (1967) * Caturaṅgaṃ : nōval (1969) * Tatta par̲añña 65 kathakaḷ (1989) * Taṅkakiṅṅiṇi (1992) * Pan̄catantr̲aṃ (1994) * Mañcāṭikkuru (1994) * Rahasʼsaṃ (1995) * Albutha Ramayanam (2001) * Ee katha kettittunda? (2003) * Pañcatantrakathakaḷ (2011) * Uṇṇikaḷkk Kr̥ṣṇakathakaḷ (2014) * Pañcakanyakamār : kathakaḷ (2015) * Śr̲īrāmakathakaḷ - Sree Rama kathakal (2016) * Paccamalayālạaṃ nighaṇṭu = Pachamalayalam nighandu (2016) * Eeswaravatharangalude ammamar (2017) * Onpatu Śrīrāmanmāruṃ mat̲t̲u kathakaḷuṃ : bālasāhityaṃ (2017) * Parīkṣittinu kiṭṭiya śāpavuṃ mat̲t̲u kathakaḷuṃ : bālasāhityaṃ (2017) * Neyppāyasaṃ (2017) * Śrīkr̥ṣṇanuṃ ōṭakkul̲aluṃ : bālasāhityaṃ (2017) * Arshabharatha sthreekal (2017) * Kuruvamsathile bagyaheenakalaya vanithakal (2017) * Karṇanu kiṭṭiya śāpavuṃ mat̲t̲u kathakaḷuṃ : bālasāhityaṃ (2017) * Apsara sthreekal (2017) * Pathivrathakalaya ranhimar (2017) * Śivant̲e pāṭṭuvaṇṭiyuṃ mat̲t̲u kathakaḷuṃ : bālasāhityaṃ (2017) * Pathivrathakalaya munipathnimar (2017) * Rāvaṇanuṃ Yamadharmanuṃ mat̲t̲u kathakaḷuṃ : bālasāhityaṃ (2017) * Śrīpārvatikku kiṭṭiya śāpavuṃ mat̲t̲u kathakaḷuṃ : bālasāhityaṃ (2017) * Peran̲pin̲ pūkkaḷ : Malaiyāḷa cir̲ār kataikaḷ (2018) * Pañcatantrakathakaḷ (2019) * Miṭhāyippoti (2020)

References

External links

Sumangala
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nambudiripad, Leela 1934 births 2021 deaths Indian children's writers Malayalam-language writers Translators to Malayalam Women writers from Kerala Indian women children's writers People from Palakkad district Novelists from Kerala 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian novelists Indian women translators 20th-century Indian translators Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award