Subramanya Bharathi
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Subramanya Bharathi (Tamil: சுப்பிரமணிய பாரதி) (December 11, 1882 - September 11, 1921) was a Tamil poet from Tamil Nadu, India. Known as Mahakavi Bharathiyar (the laudatory epithet Maha Kavi meaning Great Poet in Tamil), he is celebrated as one of India's greatest poets. Bharathi was prolific and adept in both the prose and poetry forms, and his rousing compositions helped rally the masses to support the Indian independence movement in South India. Bharathi lived during an eventful period of Indian history; his contemporaries included other prominent leaders of the Indian independence movement such as Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Aurobindo and V.V.S.Aiyar.
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[edit] Early life
Bharathi was born on December 11, 1882 in the Tamil village of Ettayapuram in a Iyer Brahmin family. Bharathi was educated at a local high school called "Nellai Hindu School" where his talents as a poet were recognized even at the young age of 11 and was conferred the title of Bharathi (Goddess of learning). Bharathi's parents died when he was quite young. He married Chellamal in 1897. After an early marriage, Bharathi, curious to see the outside world, left for Benares in 1898. The next four years of his life served as a passage of discovery, when Bharathi discovered a country in tumult outside his small hamlet. Bharathi worked as a schoolteacher and as a journal editor at various times in his life.
[edit] Nationalist
During his stay in Benares, Bharathi was exposed to Hindu spirituality and nationalism. Bharathi's enquiring mind began to see beyond the social taboo superstition that held sway amidst the orthodox South Indians. By the early 1900s, Bharathi had become completely involved in the nationalist movement and took active part in the Congress meets through out the country.
During this period, Bharathi understood the need to be well-informed of the world outside and took avid interest in the world of journalism and the print media of the West. Bharathi joined as Assistant Editor of the Swadeshamitran, a Tamil daily in 1904. By April 1907, he had started and become the editor of the Tamil weekly India and the English newspaper Bala Bharatham.
These papers not only served the purpose of enlightening the masses on the affairs of the nation and the world outside, but also were a means of expressing Bharathi's creativity, which began to peak during this period. Bharathi started to publish his poems regularly in these editions. From complex religious hymns to rousing nationalist anthems, from contemplations on the relationship between God and Man to songs on the Russian and French revolutions, Bharathi's subjects were truly diverse.
[edit] Militancy
Bharathi participated in the historic Surat Congress in 1907, which deepend the divisions within the Indian National Congress between the militant wing led by Tilak and Aurobindo and the 'moderates'. Subramanya Bharathi supported Tilak and Aurobindo together with V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Kanchi Varathaachariyar. Tilak openly supported armed resistance against the British.
Bharathi immersed himself in writing and in political activity. In Madras, in 1908, he organised a public meeting to celebrate Swaraj (independence) Day'. His nationalistic poems Vanthe Matharam, Enthayum Thayum, Jaya Bharath were printed and distributed free to the audience.
[edit] Exile in Pondicherry
In 1908, he gave evidence in the case which had been instituted by the British against V.O. Chidambaram Pillai. In the same year, the proprietor of the 'India' was arrested in Madras. Faced with the prospect of arrest, Bharathi escaped to Pondicherry which was under French rule.
From there Bharathi edited and published the weekly journal India, Vijaya, a Tamil daily, Bala Bharatha, an English monthly, and Suryothayam a local weekly of Pondicherry. The British tried to suppress Bharathi's output by stopping remittances and letters to the papers. Both India and Vijaya were banned in British India in 1909.
During his exile, Bharathi had the opportunity to mix with many other leaders of the militant wing of the Independence movement such as Aurobindo and V.V.S. Aiyar, who had also sought asylum under the French. Bharathi met with Aurobindo in Pondicherry and the discussions often turned to religion and philosophy. He assisted Aurobindo in the Arya journal and later Karma Yogi in Pondicherry.
Bharathi entered British India near Cuddalore in November 1918 and was promptly arrested. He was imprisoned in the Central prison in Cuddalore in custody for three weeks - from 20 November 20 to 14 December.
[edit] Literary career
Bharathi had an exceptional love and devotion towards his mother tongue Tamil language, which he considered as the sweetest of all the languages known to him. He has written in one of his poems, 'Of all the languages I know, I have not heard a sweeter language than Tamil' (யாமறிந்த மொழிகளிலே தமிழ்மொழி போல் இனிதாவது எங்கும் காணோம்). He was fluent in many languages including Bengali, Hindi, Sanskrit, Kutchi, French and English and frequently translated works from other languages into Tamil. He had a voracious appetite for learning ancient and contemporary Tamil literature and derived astonishing insights from the ancient poems.
[edit] Nationalistic poems
Bharathi is considered a nationalistic poet due to his number of poems of the patriotic flavour through which he extolled the people to join the Independence struggle. He wrote "The glorious Himalayas are ours and there is none to compare with it on this earth…The good river Ganges is our river and there is no river to rival its goodness…
மன்னு மிமய மலையெங்கள் மலையே
மாநில மீதிது போற்பிறி திலையே
இன்னறு நீர்கங்கை யாறெங்களாறே
இங்கிதன் மாண்பிற் கெதிரெது வேறே
Instead of merely being proud of his country he also outlined his vision for a free India. He wrote 'When you say the name of Bharat you will lose your fear of your enemies…We will make weapons, produce good paper, we will build big factories and create great schools. We will never rest, nor sleep; we will be truthful and excel…'
Bharathi's strong nationalistic sense may be illustrated by this:
- ஆயிரம் உண்டிங்கு சாதி, எனில் அன்னியர் வந்து புகலென்ன நீதி!
- We may have thousand of sects; that, however, does not justify a foreign invasion.
[edit] Religious and philosophical poems
Bharathi produced such masterpieces as Kannan Paattu (The Song of Krishna), in which Bharathi sought to portray God as the source of all of humanity's passions in the most accessible of forms including in the roles of a love-lorn lover, of a mischievous child, of an innocent child, and of a wise teacher.
Bharathi also published two of his most widely read epics during this period: Panchali Sapatham (Draupadi's Vow), a poetic semi-political reflection on greed, pride and righteousness derived from the Indian epic Mahabharata, and Kuyil Paatu (Song of The Cuckoo), an ode and a tribute to the poet's favourite Shelley.
[edit] Carnatic Music compositions
Bharathi composed Carnatic music kritis in Tamil on love, devotion, etc. He set his songs to music and could sing them well in a variety of ragas. In harata Dheviyin Thiru Dasangam he used ten different ragas. His patriotic songs emphasize nationalism, unity of India, equality of man and the greatness of the Tamil language, set to folk tunes. He sang these himself at various political meetings.
Alhough he was fluent in Sanskrit (and other languages including Bengali, Hindi, Sanskrit, Kutchi, French and English), he only composed two songs purely in Sanskrit, with the vast majority being in the rich language of Tamil.
In an article Sangeeta Vishayam (Issues in Music), Bharathiyar rebukes musicians for singing songs of the Trinity, Patnam Subramania Iyer and others without knowing the meaning because the songs are all in Sanskrit or Telugu. He says, without knowing the meaning, singers are unable to sing with proper expression. He also says songs usually portray devotion and love and not other emotions like courage, anger, wonder, fear, and hatred. He emphasized that musicians should not sing songs which they do not understand and should learn from Hindustani musicians how to train their voices.
Bharathi set tunes for a number of his songs, however not all of them have been recovered. Some of the songs of Bharathi that are currently very popular in the Carnatic music concert circuit include: Theeratha Vilaiyattu Pillai, Chinnanchiru Kiliye (tuned by him in Raga Bhairavi, but popularised in Ragamalika), Suttum Vizhi, Thikku Theriyaatha, Senthamizh Nadenum, and Paarukkule Nalla Naadu.
[edit] Journalism
As a journalist, Bharathi was the first in India to introduce caricatures and political cartoons to his newspapers; they were satirical and angry hand-drawn illustrations of the poet that improvised heavily on the works of his inspiration Thomas Nast. He published and edited various journals such as Swadeshamitran, India, Vijaya, and Bala Bharatham.
[edit] Innovation in Tamil poetry
Bharathi was a pioneer in introducing a new style of Tamil poetry. Until then the poems had to follow the strict syntactic rules set down by the ancient Tamil grammatical treatise Tolkappiyam. Bharathi broke this syntactic bonds and created a prose-poetic style known as the puthukkavithai (modern poems).
[edit] Literary output
Bharathi's was a prolific writer and in his short life he produced numerous poems short and long, essays, prose-poetry and fiction. He wrote poems in both the conventional as well as his new style of puthukkavithai. His works may be broadly classified into these heading
- Autobiography (சுய சரிதை)
- Patriotic songs (தேசிய கீதங்கள்)
- Philosophical songs (ஞானப்பாடல்கள்)
- Miscellaneous songs (பல்வகைப் பாடல்கள்)
- Devotional songs (Thothira Padalkal)
- Commentary on Gita (பகவத் கீதை முன்னுரை)
- Kannan song, Kuyil song (கண்ணன் பாட்டு, குயில் பாட்டு)
- Panchali's Vow (பாஞ்சாலி சபதம்)
- Chandrika's story (சந்திரிகையின் கதை) (an unfinished novel)
- Pappa Pattu (Songs for the Girl Child)
- Leaders
Venkata Ramanan D.
[edit] Social reformer
His poetry expressed a progressive, reformist ideal. His powerful imagery and the vigour of his verse has come to symbolise Tamil culture in many respects. Bharathiyaar famously espoused greater freedom and respect for women:
- மாதர் தம்மை இழிவு செய்யும்
- மடமையை கொளுத்துவோம்
- We will destroy the idiocy
- Of denigrating womanhood
In the poem, Bharathi expresses his frustrations at some of the deploring superstitions of his fellow men which are responsible for their remaining as slaves despite all their resources and glorious past.
- நெஞ்சு பொறுக்குதில்லையே - இந்த
- நிலைகெட்ட மனிதரை நினைந்துவிட்டால்
"கொஞ்சமோ பிரிவினைகள் - ஒரு
- கோடியென் றாலது பெரிதாமோ ?
- 'My blood boils to think of these idiotic men! How many division within us, they are more than a crore!…'
Bharathi fought against the caste system in the Hindu society. Although born into an orthodox Brahmin family, he gave up his own caste identity. He considered all living beings as equal and to illustrate this he even performed upanayanam to a young harijan man and made him an Brahmin. He also scorned the divisive tendencies being imparted into the younger generations by their elderly tutors during his time. He openly criticised the preachers for mixing their individual thoughts while teaching the Vedas and the Gita.
[edit] Death
Bharathi's health was badly affected by the imprisonments and by 1920, when a General Amnesty Order finally removed restrictions on his movements, Bharathy was struggling in penury and failing health resulting in his tragic premature death.
Bharathi was struck by an elephant at Parthasarathy temple, Thiruvallikeni, Chennai. He however survived the mishap. A few months later his health deteriorated and he died on September 11, 1921, not yet forty years of age. His funeral was attended by only seven people.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Bharathi's Poems
- Selected Bharathi's Songs
- Bharathiar - Life & Works
- Bharathi Songs
- Mahakavi Bharathiar Website
- Bharathiar University Coimbatore
