Leela Nambudiripad under the pen name of Sumangala, is a popular author of children's literature in Malayalam.

Biography

She was born on 16 May 1934 as the daughter of eminent Sanskrit scholars O M C Narayanan Nambudiripad

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 . He is known for his translation into Malayalam of the Rigveda. This work titled Rigveda Bhasha Bhashyam is an exhaustive interpretative analysis of...

 and Uma Antharjanam in Vellinezhi (Palakkad District

Palakkad district

Palakkad District is one of the 14 districts of the Indian state of Kerala. The city of Palakkad is the district headquarters. Palakkad is bordered on the northwest by the Malappuram District, on the southwest by the Thrissur District and on the east by Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. The...

, Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

). Sumangala has been a prolific writer of books for children over the past 40 years.

Fondly referred to as the Enid Blyton

Enid Blyton

Enid Blyton was an English children's writer also known as Mary Pollock.Noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups,her books have enjoyed huge success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 600 million copies.One of Blyton's most...

 of Malayalam, Sumangala has penned 37 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. Perhaps her most famous work is a translation into Malayalam of the Panchatantra. Sumangala has also translated the Valmiki Ramayanam into Malayalam from Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

. Another important literary work of hers is the compilation of Pacha Malayala Nikhandu. Sumangala is the recipient of many awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi 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 is married to Desamangalam Ashtamurthy Nambudripad and has three children - Dr. Usha Nambudripad, D Narayanan and D Ashtamurthy. As Leela Nambudripad, she has served in the Public Relations Department of Kerala Kalamandalam

Kerala Kalamandalam

Kerala Kalamandalam , lately renamed as Kalamandalam Deemed University of Art and Culture, is a major centre for learning Indian performing arts, especially those that developed in the southern state of India, with the special emphasis on Kerala. It is situated in the village of Cheruthuruthy in...

 for 22 years. Sumangala resides in the town of Wadakkancheri in Thrissur District

Thrissur district

Thrissur is a revenue district of Kerala situated in the central part of that state. Spanning an area of about 3,032 km2, Thrissur district is home to over 10% of Kerala’s population. Thrissur district was formed on July 1, 1949, with the headquarters at Thrissur City. Thrissur is known as...

.

She has also written a book called "Kerala Kalamandalam History".