‘Bharathiyar’ is the name that reminds Indians of nationalism, patriotism and Tamil prose and poetry. Born in 1882, he was conferred the title ‘Bharati’ for his poetic talent at a tender age. Bharati emerged as a prolific poet earning himself the name ‘Mahakavi’, which means Great Poet. He died at the age of 39, but in the short span of his life he made an invaluable contribution to his country and language.
life of a patriot
He lived through the turbulent years of our country’s struggle for freedom. He had met contemporaries of his who influenced his political thought such as Mahatma Gandhi, Tilak, Sister Nivedita, Aurobindo Gosh, VVS Iyer and Lajpat Roy. The very life of the Tamil poet and writer is a shining example of upholding the spirit of freedom, equality, justice and love despite poverty and against oppressive British rule. He was deputy editor of ‘Swadesamithran’, a Tamil daily from 1904 to 1907. He launched ‘India’, the Tamil weekly of which he was editor, and later edited a ‘Bala Bharatam’ newspaper in English. He had a turbulent life mixed with living in exile, arrest, imprisonment in the midst of abject poverty. He resumed as editor of Swadesamithran a year before his death in 1921.
social reformer
His lofty dreams about our society and country were brilliantly manifested in his songs and prose. She had the uncanny ability to use his literary skills to better ignite the patriotic feelings of the masses and about the ills of society that caused all his troubles.
Patriot
He proudly proclaims that there is no other country in the world that can match the greatness of India which has the Himalayan mountains, the holy river Ganges and the Upanishads in his song “Mannum Imaya malai” and “paarukkule nalla naadu”. proud of the richness and sweetness of the tamil language in his lines ‘yamarindha mozhiugalile’, he equally proudly proclaims the richness and uniqueness of the tamil language.
Advocating for freedom and casteless society
He fearlessly wrote about the freedom of individuals and nations influenced by ‘Vande Mataram’, Bankim Chandra’s patriotic song. These meetings have injected courage into her writing. Considering this to be a divine inspiration, he went on to write revolutionary compositions full of national unity and the spirit of freedom. His songs brought a spiritual dimension to the freedom movement. ‘Swathesa Geetangal’ and ‘Janma Bhoomi’ which she dedicated to Sister Nivedita are examples of his patriotic songs serving the underprivileged and the emancipation of women. They were distributed to the people during the freedom movement of India. She dreams of a free India and an educated society, devoid of its social ills and living in harmony. We can see that many of her dreams have come true today. His writings when he was in exile in Puducery were so powerful that the British even imprisoned him.
His songs for children in ‘Paappa Paattu’ and ‘Pudhiya Aathichoodi’ evoked a sense of equality, love towards all living beings, casteless society and courage etc. His simple words convey ethical and moral principles to young minds effortlessly. His unique style was simple with a technique of weaving spoken language and rhythm into beautiful prose and poetry.
Literary genius Bharati has left an indelible mark on the minds of millions of Tamils through his writings which include novels, short stories, essays and poetry.
You can download Subramanya Bharatiyar’s poems for free at Sangapalagai.com.
