Subramania Bharati

In thisIndian name,the nameChinnaswamiis apatronymic,and the person should be referred to by thegiven name,Subramaniyan.

C. Subramania Bharati
Subramania Bharati
Born	(1882-12-11)11 December 1882 Ettayapuram,Tirunelveli district,Madras Presidency,British India (present-dayThoothukudi district,Tamil Nadu, India)
Died	11 September 1921(1921-09-11)(aged 38) Madras,Madras Presidency, British India (present-day Tamil Nadu, India)
Other names	Bharatiyar, Subbaiah, Sakthi Dasan, Mahakavi, Mundasu Kavignar, Veera Kavi
Citizenship	Indian
Occupations	Journalist Poet Writer Teacher Independence activist
Movement	Indian independence movement
Spouse	Chellamma (m. 1896–1921)
Children	2
Family	Rajkumar Bharathi(great-grandson)
Signature

C. Subramania Bharati(IPA:/ˌsuˈbrəˌmənˈjʌˈbɑːˌrʌθi/;bornC. Subramaniyan11 December 1882 – 11 September 1921) was a Tamil writer, poet, journalist,Indian independence activist,social reformer andpolyglot.He was bestowed the titleBharatifor his poetry and was a pioneer of modernTamilpoetry. He is popularly known by his titleBharatiorBharathiyaarand also by the other title "Mahakavi Bharati" ( "the great poet Bharati" ). His works included patriotic songs composed during theIndian Independence movement.He fought for theemancipation of women,againstchild marriage,vehemently opposed thecaste system,and stood for reforming society and religion.

Born inEttayapuramofTirunelveli district(present-dayThoothukudi) in 1882, Bharati had his early education inTirunelveli.He later lived inVaranasifor sometime when he was exposed to Hindu theology and new languages. He worked as a journalist with many newspapers, includingSwadesamitran,The Hindu,Bala Bharata,Vijaya,ChakravarthiniandIndia.He consideredSister Nivedita,a disciple ofSwami Vivekananda,as his guru.

In 1908, theBritish Governmentissued an arrest warrant for Bharathi which pushed him to live in exile in theFrench-controlledPondicherryfor about ten years until 1918. He was attacked by anIndian elephantatThiruvallikeni Parthasarathy Templewhom he fed daily and died a few months later on 11 September 1921.

Bharthi was well-versed in several languages and had a passion for Tamil. His works covered political, social and spiritual themes. Songs and poems composed by Bharthi are used in Tamil literature, music and daily life. His works includePanjali Sabatham,Kannan Paatu,Kuyil Paatu,Paapa Paatu,Chinnanchriu Kiliye,Vinayagar NanmanimalaiandTamiltranslations ofPatanjali'sYoga SutraandBhagavat Gita.Bharathi was the first poet whose literature was nationalized in 1949.

Early life

Subramanya Bharathi with his wife Chellamma

Subramaniyan was born in aBrahminfamily on 11 December 1882 in the village ofEttayapuraminTirunelveli district,Madras Presidency(present dayThoothukudi district,Tamil Nadu).His parents were Chinnaswami Iyer and Lakshmi Ammal.His mother died when he was of five in 1897. After that, he was brought up by his father and his grandmother.

His father wanted him to learnEnglishandMathsand become anengineer.From a very young age, Subramaniyan was musically and poetically inclined. At around the young age of 11, Subramanian was conferred the title of "Bharathi", meaning blessed by the goddess of learningSaraswatifor his excellence in poetry.In 1897, at the age of 15, he was married to Chellamma, who was seven years old. He lost his father at the age of sixteen.After the death of his father, he wrote a letter to the Raja of Ettayapuram, requesting for financial assistance. Bharti worked in the court of Ettayapuram for a while before he left the job and went toVaranasi.During his stay in Varanasi, Bharathi was exposed toHindu spiritualityand nationalism. This broadened his outlook and he learnedSanskrit,Hindiand English. He changed his outward appearance, growing a beard and wore a turban.

Literary life and independence activism

Bharathi in the 1900s

Bharathi returned to Ettayapuram during 1901 and served as the court poet of the Raja of Ettayapuram. He served as a Tamil teacher from August to November 1904 in Sethupathy High School inMadurai.During this period, Bharathi understood the need to be well-informed of the world outside and took interest in the world ofjournalismand the print media. In the same year, Bharathi joined as an assistant editor atSwadesamitran,a Tamil daily.In December 1905, he attended a session ofIndian National Congressin Varanasi. On his journey back home, he metSister Nivedita,who was SwamiVivekananda's spiritual heir. She inspired Bharathi to recognize the rights and privilege of women.Bharathi considered her as a embodiment ofHindugoddessShaktiand considered Nivedita as hisGuru.He later attended the Indian National Congress session inCalcuttaheld underDadabhai Naoroji,which demandedSwarajand boycott of British goods.

A weekly newspaper edited by Bharathi in 1907

By April 1907, he started editing the Tamil weeklyIndiaand the English newspaperBala Bharathamalong withM.P.T. Acharya.These newspapers served as a means of expressing Bharathi's creativity and he continued to write poems in these editions. His writings included diverse topics ranging from nationalism to contemplations on the relationship between God and Man. He also wrote on theRussianandFrench Revolutions.

Cover page of the 1909 magazineVijaya,published first fromPondicherry

Bharathi participated in the Indian National Congress meeting held inSuratin 1907 along withV.O. Chidambaram Pillaiand Mandayam Srinivachariar.The meeting deepened the divisions within the Congress with a section preferring armed resistance. This section was primarily led byBal Gangadhar Tilak,which was supported by Bharathi, Chidambaram Pillai and Varathachariyar.In 1908, the British instituted a case against Chidambaram Pillai. In the same year, the proprietor of the journalIndiain which Bharathi was writing, was arrested inMadras.Faced with the prospect of an imminent arrest, Bharathi escaped toPondicherry,which was under theFrenchrule.

The house in which Bharathi lived inPondicherry

In Pondicherry, Bharathi edited and published the weekly journalIndia,a Tamil dailyVijaya,an English monthlyBala Bharathamand a local weeklySuryodayam.The British tried to ban Bharathi's publications and the newspapersIndiaandVijayawere banned in British India in 1909.During his exile, Bharathi had the opportunity to meet other revolutionary leaders of theIndian Independence movementlikeAurobindo,Lajpat RaiandV. V. Subrahmanya Iyer,who had also sought asylum under the French. Bharathi assisted Aurobindo in publishing the journalsAryaandKarma Yogi.He also started learningVedic literature.Three of his greatest works namely,Kuyil Pattu,Panjali SabathamandKannan Pattuwere composed during 1912. He also translated Vedic hymns,Patanjali'sYoga SutraandBhagavat GitatoTamil language.

When Bharathi entered the British India nearCuddalorein November 1918, he was arrested.He was imprisoned in the Central prison in Cuddalore for three weeks from 20 November to 14 December. He was released after the intervention ofAnnie BesantandC.P. Ramaswamy Aiyar.He was stricken by poverty and ill health during this period. In the following year, Bharathi metGandhifor the first time. He resumed editingSwadesamitranin 1920 fromMadras.

Death

Bharathi was badly affected by the imprisonments and struggled from ill health. In 1920, a general amnesty was issued which finally removed restrictions on his movements. He delivered his last speech at Karungalpalayam Library inErodeon the topicMan is Immortal.He was struck by anIndian elephantnamed Lavanya at theThiruvallikeni Parthasarathy Templewhom he used to feed often. When he fed a coconut to the elephant, the elephant attacked him and although he survived the incident, his health deteriorated. A few months later, he died in the early morning on 11 September 1921. Though Bharathi was considered a great poet and nationalist, it was recorded that only 14 people attended his funeral.

Literary work

Bharathi was one of the pioneers of modern Tamil literature.He is known by the nickname "Mahakavi" ( "The Great Poet" ).Bharathi used simple words and rhythms, unlike the previous century works in Tamil, which had complex vocabulary. He also proposed novel ideas and techniques in his poems. He used ametrecalledNondi Chinduin most of his works, which was earlier used by Gopalakrisnha Bharathiar.

Bharathi's poetry expressed progressive and reformist ideals. His poetry was a forerunner to modern Tamil poetry in different aspects and combined classical and contemporary elements. He penned thousands of verses on diverse topics like Indian Nationalism, love, children, nature, glory of the Tamil language, and odes to prominent freedom fighters. He fought for theemancipation of women,againstchild marriage,vehemently opposed thecaste system,and stood for reforming society and religion.His poems were the first to be nationalized in India in 1949.

His works includePanjali Sabatham,Kannan Paatu,Kuyil Paatu,Paapa Paatu,Chinnanchriu KiliyeandVinayagar Nanmanimalai.He also translatedPatanjali'sYoga SutraandBhagavat Gitato Tamil.Apart from this he also wrote various patriotic songs, religious verses, short stories and translations of speeches of reformist leaders.

Legacy

Bharathi's house inEttayapuram

The last years of his life were spent in a house inThiruvallikeniin Chennai. The house was bought and renovated by theGovernment of Tamil Naduin 1993 and named "Bharathi Illam" (Home of Bharathi).The house in which he was born in Ettayapuram and the house where he lived in Puducherry are maintained as memorial houses.A statue of Bharathi, a memorial complex and a photo exhibition related to his life history are on display at Etayapuram, his birth place.

In 1987,Subramanyam Bharti Awardwas constituted to award contributions to literature. The award is conferred annually by theMinistry of Human Resource DevelopmentofGovernment of India.In 2021, Government of Tamil Nadu instituted a yearly "Bharati young poet Award".Statutes of Bharathi include theIndian ParliamentandMarina Beachfacade in Chennai.Roads are named after him include Bharathiar road in Coimbatore and Subramaniam Bharti Marg inNew Delhi.Several educational institutions are named after him includingBharathiar University,astate university,which was established in 1982 atCoimbatore.

In popular culture

ATamil filmtitledBharathiwas made in the year 2000 on the life of the poet byGnana Rajasekaran,which wonNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.The movieKappalottiya Thamizhanbased on the life of V. O. Chidambaram Pillai also chronicles the life of Bharathi. Themusical duoHiphop Tamizhause a caricature of Bharati as a part of theirlogo.Many of the poems written by Bharati are used in various films in the form of songs.Phrases or lines from his poems are also used as film titles.

See also

• Tamil Wikisource Subramaniya Bharathi's works
• Project MaduraiTamil literature repository

Further reading

• Fire In The Soul: The Life And Times of Subramania Bharati.OCLC339.
• “Subramania Barati and Tamil Modernism”Archived12 September 2021 at theWayback Machine
• "Fictionalizing an Untold History"Archived26 September 2019 at theWayback Machine

External links

• Works by Bharathi at the open access repository: Project Madurai
• Long list ofworks by Bharathion the left side menu, some songs have audio files
• Songs by Mahakavi Bharathiyar
• Works by Subramania BharatiatLibriVox(public domain audiobooks)