Mary John Thottam

She authored two mahakavyas, Marthoma Vijayam and Gandhi Jayanthi, a poetry anthology, Lokame Yathra, and other works.

[3] Thottam's first work, a poetry anthology titled Geethavali, was released in 1927 which had the foreword written by Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer, the noted poet.

[5] She was one of the pioneers of women writers in Malayalam language[6] and her book, Kavitharamam (A Garden of Poems), published in 1929 sold over 100,000 copies, making it a best seller of the times.

[3] Thottam entered the Catholic religious order of the Carmelites under the name of Mary Benigna on 16 July 1928[3] and superannuated from official service in 1961.

[4][10] Her autobiography, Vanambadi (Nightingale) was published in 1986, a year after her death, along with an anthology of selected poems, under the title, Lokame Yatra.