We often sigh “what we are undergoing must not happen to our enemies too”.

But this happened, to the most famous freedom fighter of Tamil Nadu - Bharatiyar.

There were just 14 people during his cremation.

"Even if Indians are divided, they are children of One Mother, where is the need for foreigners to interfere?" – Subramanya Bharathi.

Mahakavi Bharathiyar is considered to be one of the greatest Tamil poets of the modern era. Most of his works were on religious, political and social themes. Songs penned by Bharathi have been widely used in Tamil films and Carnatic Music concert platforms.

He was a ‘Shaktic Advaitin’ who saw the dance of Kali in all movements and the entire existence as a dynamic motion.

Born to Chinnasami Subramanya Iyer and Elakumi Ammaal as "Subbayya" on December 11^th 1882, Bharati had a difficult childhood after losing his mother when he was 5.

His fascination for poetry and Tamil Classics wasn’t acceptable to his father who dreamt his son to be an engineer, but as years passed, the father understood he can’t change his son and sent young Subbaiah to the services of Tirunelveli Raja.

Once 16-year old Subbaiah had a debate in king’s court with Pandit, towards the end, an overjoyed King conferred the title Bharati to Subbaiah.

After his father’s demise in 1898, Subbaiah and his wife Chellamma (married when he was 14) went to his uncle and aunt who was looking after a Matha in Benaras. Subbaiah joined Central Hindu College, learnt Hindi and Sanskrit also fine-tuned his English.

It was during his student days, at Varanasi, that Bharati began to dress in the way now familiar to us. He cut his hair to the dismay of his uncle, grew a moustache, dressed in the North Indian fashion, and adopted his classic turban.

The Etteyapuram Raja asked Subbaiah to return back, so he did in 1904, but he felt uneasy amongst the richness and grandeur. He left the king and went to Madurai.

He met G Subramania Iyer, the editor of Swadeshimitran and joined him as Sub-Editor in November 1904.

His main work was to translate into Tamil the news published in English dailies. That is how Bharati even translated speeches of Swami Vivekananda, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Veer Savarkar and other Nationalists. Influenced by the messages of these men, Bharati became a sympathizer of the Nationalists. This work gave him good training in the art of writing. His language gained a power of expression till then unknown in Tamil. As the sub-editor of Swadesamitran, Bharati went to attend the 21^st All-India Congress Session at Benaras. There he met Sister Nivedita to whom he dedicated two volumes of poetry, Swadesa Gitangal (1908) and Janma Bhoomi (1909).  Sister Nivedita said, "who without words, in a split second, taught me the nature of true service to the Mother and the greatness of sacrifice."

THE KARNATAKA CONNECTION

Tirumalchariar and Srinivasachariar, the Mandayam brothers, great patriots, wanted to spend their inherited fortune for the Motherland and started a new Tamil weekly, India, based out of Madras in 1906, around the same time as the Bande Mataram at Calcutta. Bharati became its Editor. He was also the Editor of an English magazine Bala Bharati, another Tamil magazine Chakravartini, and a Tamil daily, Vijaya. Bharati poured out his flaming heart into poems published in India. His prose targeted the Moderates, and scorned the Indians who did not join the freedom struggle. In a cartoon published in India in 1908 the Moderates are portrayed as dogs eager for the bones Lord Morley is throwing to them while the British looted the mansion of India with a sad-looking caged lion, Balgangadhar Tilak. The intrepid Bharati spared no one. The Government was ready to crack its whip and ordered his arrest.

Subramania Bharati, 'the most dangerous member' of the India group escaped to French India. Mandayam Srinivasa Iyengar was arrested, convicted and sentenced to five years. While his brother Mandayam Tirumalachari, also escaped to Pondicherry along with his office equipment, printing press, lock, stock, and barrel in October 1908. By 10^th October the first issue of India came out from Pondicherry.

Bharati, was a great admirer of Sri Aurobindo. In mid-1909 he sent one of India's correspondents to Calcutta to interview him. The interview was published in India in 18^th September 1909 issue. This type of reporting made India a treasure in Tamil journalism. Sri Aurobindo met S. Parthasarathi Iyengar 'Secretary Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company' and associated with the India Press in Calcutta. When Sri Aurobindo moved to to Pondicherry from Chandernagore, he had sent Moni with a note addressed to S. Parthasarathi. Since Parthasarathi was away from Pondicherry, at Moni's request Parthasarathi's elder brother Srinivasachari had opened the envelope and learned that Sri Aurobindo “was coming to Pondicherry and wanted a quiet place of residence to be engaged for him where he could live incognito without being in any way disturbed.” Srinivasachari and Bharati received Sri Aurobindo at Pondicherry on 4^th April 1910.

During his exile, Bharathi had the opportunity to interact with many other leaders of the revolutionary wing of the Independence movement- Sri Aurobindo, Lajpat Rai and V.V.S. Aiyar, who had also sought asylum under the French. Bharathi assisted Sri Aurobindo in the Arya journal.

A R Venkatachalapathy in his book “Who Owns That Song” compares Subramania Bharati with Tagore, and he writes…

Why is Subramania Bharati not as well-known as Rabindranath Tagore?

The Nobel Prize? - It is part of the answer, but not the whole.

A R V gives a most meaningful illustration about Bharati, he says Bharati’s life was short. Of his thirty-nine years, over ten were spent in exile in Pondicherry to escape the British Indian police. When Tagore was being feted, Bharati was pleading with the governor of Madras for justice. If the crowds at the time of Tagore’s death caused near-riots, Bharati’s funeral procession drew eleven persons and there was a confusion over who would light the pyre.

A poet who relied on inspiration to write, Bharati’s poems total some 600 pages. He wrote about sixty stories which do not conform to accepted forms of the novel or short story. He wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita and translated some Vedic hymns. As a journalist he wrote editorials and political commentary. He was the pioneer of column writing in Tamil and the author of arguably the first published autobiography in Tamil.

Why then is Bharati so little known outside Tamil Nadu?

Translation into English – its quality or its lack thereof – is the prime culprit. Little was done in his own lifetime to translate his poems. When his fame grew, stray translations made their appearance. After independence it became a cottage industry. Many translators tried their hand but Bharati’s poetry simply refuses to work in English. 

While Bengali minds kept Tagore relevant over the years, the Tamilians clouded by Periyar and Karunanidhi denied Bharat, the gem called Subramanya Bharati.

When the Indian independence movement was oscillating between phases of vigour, dullness and momentum, Bharathi sang for political freedom and emancipation from social stagnation. His radical humanism was rooted in advaitic (non-dualism) Vedanta as he battled against the evils of caste system and subjugation of women. At the same time, he sang about the universe – “from the movement of the galaxies to the storms in his coastal town”. Non-dualism bubbled in his verses. His poetry stands out for many facets of his love for his motherland. He berates his countrymen for many social evils. He chastises them for a fearful and pusillanimous attitude towards the rulers. He gave a clarion call for national unity, removal of casteism and the removal of oppression of women. 

From 1910-1920, when freedom was a far cry and Gandhi was just an emerging force, with a tremendous sense of positive expectation, he spoke of a new and free India where there were no castes. He eloquently imagined all-round social and economic development. He spoke of building up India's defence, with her ships sailing the high seas, success in manufacturing and universal education. He called for sharing amongst states with wonderful imagery of diversion of excess waters of the Bengal delta to needy regions. He spoke of a bridge to Sri Lanka. He even desired greater co-operation between Bharat and her neighbors, a vision realized more than 60 years after his death through the SAARC agreement. Truly a visionary.

Bharathi also fought against the caste system in Hindu society. Born as a Brahmin, he tried to remove the disorder in Brahminism brought up by other castes through misconceptions.

He used to say, “There is no caste system. It is a sin to divide people on caste basis. The ones who are really of a superior class are the ones excelling in being just, intelligent, educated and loving”.

He also said, “There are only two castes in the world: one who is educated and one who is not.” He considered all living beings as equal and to illustrate this he even performed Upanayanam of a young Harijan and made him a Brahmin. He also scorned the divisive tendencies being imparted into the younger generations by their elderly tutors during his time. He openly criticized the preachers for interspersing individual biases while teaching the Vedas and the Gita.

Mired in poverty and badly affected by the imprisonments by 1920, when a General Amnesty Order finally removed restrictions on his movements, Bharati was already struggling. He was struck by an elephant named Lavanya at Parthasarathy temple, Chennai, whom she used to feed regularly. When he fed a rotten coconut to Lavanya, the elephant got fired up and attacked Bharati. Although he survived the incident, his health deteriorated a few months and attained sadgati on 11^th September, 1921 at around 1 am. Though Bharati was considered a people's poet, a great nationalist, outstanding freedom fighter and social visionary, it was recorded that only 14 people attended his funeral.

He was more Left than Karl Marx himself, but the only reason no liberal endorses him because, he lived, he wrote, he sang and upheld the Sanatana Dharma.

Image provided by the author.