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| Legends from the South
– Subrahmanya Bharati |
| We are happy to inform our readers that starting
with this issue, we shall publish profiles of great legends
from the South, who have made valuable contributions in their
chosen fields, to add to the glory of our country. We start
with Mahakavi Subrahmanya Bharati. |
| Mahakavi Subrahmanya Bharati was born in 1882
at Ettayapuram, a small town in Thoothukudi district. Lovingly
called Subbiah during his younger days, he was given the title
‘Bharati’ at the age of eleven by the ruler of Ettayapuram.
The king and the poets at the court were astounded by the young
lad’s prodigious poetic talent. |
| Bharati was a close confidante of the
king and passionately involved in the freedom movement.
He worked as a Tamil teacher at the Madurai Sethupathy
School and his genius always had strong leanings towards
writing and journalism. He lived his life with the motto,
“Writing is my mission.” |
| Bharati’s life has a special significance
to the people of Chennai, for the revolutionary poet’s
Chennai stay was unique in many respects. Even today,
the house in Triplicane where he lived, is a memorial
to this great poet, who has achieved immortal fame. |
| Whenever the idol of the Sri Parthasarathy
Perumal of the Parthasarathy temple was taken around the
temple, Bharati would not merely join the group of devotees,
but would sing songs in his loud and clear voice and move
with the crowd, sometimes offering to carry the deity
along with others. |
| Bharati, the Mahakavi, lived in an era
when India was still under the British regime. His devotion
to Tamil led him to say, |
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| Subrahmanya Bharati with his wife Chellamma.
Photo Courtesy: The Hindu. |
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| (Among all the languages I know, there is none
sweeter than Tamil) |
| We must appreciate his love for his own mother
tongue though he was fluent in many languages including Hindi,
Sanskrit, English and a host of others. |
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| (Dance and sing merrily saying we have got freedom) |
| Even before India got her Independence, Bharati
sang as though we had won our freedom. Such was his foresight
that with our patriots striving hard for our Independence, he
was sure that we would get it sooner or later. What a brilliant
dream he had! |
| Bharati’s works speak highly of his
patriotic fervour. He advocated national integration, when India
had not yet achieved nationhood. He was against casteism. In
a song entitled ‘Vande Mataram’ he wrote: |
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| (We shall not discriminate based on caste or
religion, all human beings born in this country are equal! Whether
preaching the vedas or engaged in other professions) |
| Just as he did not discriminate against people
based on caste, he did not discriminate based on religions as
well. What’s more, he challenged and motivated women to
fight for their rights. |
| Bharati was a visionary, who thought that
India should be a modern industrial nation, where all citizens
(irrespective of gender, religion or caste) would be equal. |
| He always spoke highly of our nation and was
proud of being born an Indian. He used to sing: |
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| (A great nation in this world · our India) |
| He believed that love of one’s language,
heritage and nation should be really strong and that we should
be proud of them. All of us can draw inspiration from his words. |
| Bharati’s initiation into journalism
was during 1904 through the then nationalist daily ‘Swadesamitran’.
He used to translate and publish Swami Vivekananda’s speeches,
Aurobindo’s expositions and the proceedings of Congress
meetings in the daily. |
| In 1905, Bharati became the editor of a woman’s
magazine, ‘Chakravarthini.’ Bharati wrote fervently
and passionately about women’s empowerment in this magazine.
“Can man be free if woman be a slave?”, the question
frequently asked today had been asked by Bharati as early as
the first decade of the 20th century. |
| But Bharati could not give vent to his views
on nationalism in this magazine. Soon he joined as the editor
of ‘India’, which as early as in 1906, sold 4000
copies. The magazine published cartoons in every issue. And
the credit for the well-crafted cartoons went solely to Bharati,
whose ideas were given shape by the cartoonist. |
| To continue his nationalistic activities,
Bharati shifted to French-ruled Pondicherry, where he suffered
many setbacks. He returned to Chennai in 1920, after nearly
14 years and joined ‘Swadesamitran’. Until his death
on September 11, 1921, Bharati continued to render total, committed
service to the paper. In June 1921, he was attacked by an elephant.
Though he seemed to have recovered from it, and attended to
his work at the office in July and August, his health started
to deteriorate. But his spirit remained undefeated. |
| Bharati’s literary works crossed the
frontiers of conventional poetry. He had a profound message
to convey in everything he wrote. His name and his works will
live forever. |
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The Memorial of Subrahmanya Bharati at Chennai.
Photo Courtesy: The Hindu.
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