Subramanya Bharathy-  better known as Mahakavi Bharathiar (Maha

Kavi meaning Greatest of Poets) to his legions of Tamil speaking readers,

is often deemed one of the greatest poets of 12th century India. A prolific
writer of immense genius and perspicacity, Bharathiar was also one of the
most prominent leaders of the independence leaders…..

Born on Dec 11 1882 in the idyllic tamil village of  ettayapuram,

Bharathy was educated at a local high school where his talents as a poet
were recognized even at the age of 11. After an early marriage, Bharathy,
curious to see the outside world, left for kashi in 1898. The next four
years of his life, served as a passage of discovery, where Bharathy
discovered a country in tumult, outside his small hamlet.

Immersing himself in Hindu spirituality and nationalism, Bharathy

returned to his Southern home, an iconoclast who shattered without
hesitation, every meaningless social taboo and rule that held sway amidst
the orthodox South Indians. By the early 1900s Bharathy had become
completely involved in the nationalist movement and took active part in
the Congress meets through out the country.

During this period, Bharathy understood the need to be well-informed of

the world outside and took avid interest in the world of American
journalism and the print media of the West. Bharathy 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 as a means of
expressing Bharathy's stupendous creativity, which began to peak at this
time. Bharathy 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, Bharathy's subjects were truly diverse.

This period produced such masterpieces as Kannan Paattu (The Song of

Krishna), where Bharathy sought to portray The Divine 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.

The poetry and imagination of Bharathy, of this era, has rarely been
surpassed in any literature that followed. Bharathy 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 favorite Shelley.

As a journalist, Bharathy 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.

By 1912 Bharathy was already a legend in South India and his political
meetings in Pondicherry, where he lived since 1908, were attracting
multitudes of young patriots, ready to join the non-violent constitutional
agitation against the British rule.

This led to a systematic British suppression of what was dubbed as the

"militancy". Several arrests and bans on his newspapers followed. The
poet's health was badly affected by the imprisonments and by 1920, when
a General Amnesty Order finally removed restrictions on his movemnet,
Bharathy was struggling in penury and failing health resulting in his tragic
premature death.

Bharathy died on September 11, 1921, not yet forty years of age. The
legacy of the poet however endures among the Tamil.

Works of Bharathiar
 Desiya Geethangal (Songs of the Nation)
 Desiya Iyakka Paadal (Anthems for the Indian Congress)
 Kaaviyangal (Epics)
o Kuyil Paattu (Song of the Cuckoo)
o Kannan Paattu (The Song of Krishna)
o Paanjaali Sabatham (Draupadi's Vow)
 Stothirangal (Hymns)

          
          
Reply

 
   1    karunakaranr,     Jul 28, 2010
 
          where is essay?  i want to see and after i will send comments.  thank
you.
          
          
Reply