Oy BhAratiyArE!--A Child's Eye View of the Poet

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 23 Aug 2012, 01:41

The First Book

“swadESa gItangaL”, which first came out in 1907 with just three poems (vandE mAtaram enbOm, endaiyum tAyum, mannum imaya malai) as a four-page pamphlet, was republished a year later as a proper, bigger book. The 1908 edition of swadESa gItangaL is thus the first book of Bharati’s poems. The 14 songs included in this book were:
1. vandE mAtaram enbOm
2. vandE mAtaram (jaya jaya bhArata)
3. endaiyum tAyum
4. mannum imaya malai
5. vAzhiya Sentamizh
6. vinnagattE iravitanai (eulogy to Lajpat Rai)
7. pApEndiriyanj ceRutta (“bhUpendirar vijayam” – visit of bhUpendra *1)
8. nenjil uramum inRi
9. nADizhandu makkaLaiyum (Lajpat Rai’s lament)
10. toNDu Seyyum aDimai
11. vIra sutantiram vENDi ninRAr
12. munnALil rAmapirAn (Dadabhai Naoroji)
13. Oy tilakarE! namma jAtikkaDukkumO?
14. pEraruT kaDavuL tiruvaDiyANai (Mazzini’s vow *2)

Except the first five, the others were songs on specific political events. All of these were in support of the approach of the radicals such as Tilak and Lajpat Rai and were aimed at lessening the appeal of the course adopted by the moderates. Songs 10, 11 and 13 are set to the same tune as his favourite Nandan Charittirak KIrttanai.*3

Swadesa Gitangal had both a dedication and a foreword. With deep guru-bhakti, Bharati dedicated his book to Nivedita Devi thus: “I dedicate this minor work at the lotus feet of my Guru, who showered her blessing by initiating me into patriotism and made me aware of the immense greatness of mother India, as Sri Krishna revealed the true nature of the self to Arjuna through the vision of His universal form – Author”

In his foreword Bharati says “I take the liberty to adorn the peerless, youthful feet of mother India with these flowers. I am well aware the flowers I dedicate to her are fragrance-less. I know that my offering of these murukkampU*4 flowers at her sacred feet, which deserve nothing less than the pArijAtam from heavens above, will diminish her beauty. Still I have dared to act so because of my immense love for her. Didn’t Shiva accept the stones thrown at him by SAkya*5 as flowers? Likewise, may Bharat Mata accept my flowers devoid of excellence.

C . Subramania Bharati, Mylapore, 10th January, 1908”

Tamils welcomed and appreciated these poems, which Bharati described with humility as flowers devoid of excellence. The support received by this book encouraged Bharati to publish one more compilation. In 1909, a year after his first book and after he had gone to Puduvai (Pondicherry), he brought out a second edition of swadEsa gItangaL entitled ‘Janma Bhoomi’. Once again, he dedicated his book to Nivedita Devi: “I dedicate this book to Nivedita Devi, the spiritual daughter of Vivekananda, Guru par excellence who within a short period of time made me aware of the true spirit of service of a mother and the greatness of asceticism – C. Subramania Bharati”

In his foreword, the Mahakavi says “Having come under the spell of a new religion called patriotism, feeling love towards that flame of devotion to one’s motherland, I strung a garland of poems to adorn the mother’s feet. Belying my expectations, several true devotees of the country shared their appreciation describing them as very good flowers. The mother also recognized it as such. Emboldened by these, I have brought a few fresh flowers for the mother’s feet. I am confident these will add to the mother’s joy.”

Notes:

1 Bhupendranath Datta, younger brother of Swami Vivekananda, one of the founders of the ‘extremist’ Jugantar movement
2 Giuseppe Mazzini, Italian Revolutionary, who was an inspirational figure for many among the Indian freedom movement, especially the radical faction
3 The Nandanar Charitram kritis of Gopala Krishna Bharati, which had a great influence on our bhArati
4 palAsa flowers / flame of the forest
5 chAkkiya nAyanAr, one of the 63 Saivite Nayanmar Saints, was originally a Buddhist monk who later realized Shiva as the ultimate truth; he offered a strange form of worship by throwing small pebbles at the Shiva Lingam, which were accepted as flowers

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 23 Aug 2012, 20:07

Thanks sridhar_rang
for the excellent follow-up. Nice to see the picture of Krishnaswamy Iyer and the Bharathy house.
Some of the listed songs were in the movie "KappalOTTiya Thamizhan" (Sivaji's spell-binding performance) with music by TMS and Sirgazhi. Those songs still ring in my ears.
I am also one of those who was propelled into the Freedom fight (though too late

)through his inspirational songs song by DKP/MKT/MS/...
That is the reason for my 'rant' about the lack of such songs which are immortal, not sung any more by the CM performers. By the by I have nothing against the Bhakthi (sringara

) songs of the present "vaggeyakaras" (?) but I bewail the lack of patrriotic songs which are badly needed

Thank you so much for taking us to those golden days of the Freedom Struggle while the poisonous cancer ('thIrAviDam") is sapping our national energy ....

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 23 Aug 2012, 22:47

That the present generation at least gets to listen to the glorious patriotic songs of Bharathi and other patriots is consolation enough--given a world far from the idealistic setting we savored in our younger days. In today's mainly materialistic world where political shenanigans are part of the scene, thanks to Bharathi, there are still those inspiring lines we get to hear even now. Leave our generation alone. A prime example is Ravi (rshankar), a youngster compared to us--see how he gets bowled over while he's discussing and translating Bharathi's songs!
And now, thanks to sridharang and kvchellappa who are keeping the inspiration of Bharathi alive with their contributions...

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 23 Aug 2012, 22:58

Hats off to Shankar for his inspiration and translation service to our members!
We all are indeed grateful to KVC and sridhar for continuing the History alive on your footsteps!
Let us continue...

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 24 Aug 2012, 23:22

Leader of the New Party

At the Surat Congress, newspaper editors of the radical faction met and resolved to work in a systematic way for spreading their goals countrywide. It was agreed that when condemning any authoritarian act of the Government, all the journals will focus on the same topic so as to cause large scale rebellions across the country. Bharati took responsibility to do this in Chennai. Accordingly, upon his return from Surat, Bharati did many things in support of Tilak’s radical movement. He was not much in possession of physical strength, but had great mental strength. There was no meeting on the beach that he did not address. Tens of thousands of people stood waiting to listen to his fierce oratory and singing.

His pen also had to toil night and day.

Bipin Chandra Pal delivered many a great speech at the spot where the Radio is these days on Triplicane beach. Bharati’s meetings also took place at the same spot. There was a sea of humanity at hand at the time of Pal’s address; even many moderates came to listen to him, doing their best to remain inconspicuous. Rumour has it that the Madras government wanted to prosecute Pal for sedition but V. Bhashyam Aiyangar, who had earlier been Advocate-General, advised against it.

Meanwhile in Punjab, Lajpat Rai and (Sardar) Ajit Singh, two other leaders of the ‘New Party’, had been exiled. On May 9, 1907, they were freed and made their return to the country. The radicals grew in their zeal.

At the same time, in the south, V.O. Chidamabaram Pillai started a shipping company to give a boost to indigenous trade and industry. On the India-Ceylon sea route, all goods were normally transported by ships of a British company, except for a few sail boats carrying a limited quantity of merchandise. Realising that an Indian shipping company could make good profits, Pillai started ‘Swadeshi Steam Navigation’ as a joint stock company and purchased two steamers. Bharatiyar helped raise money towards its capital. The family of Mandayam Srinivasachariyar, also known as ‘Puducheriyar’, pitched in with 70,000 rupees. It was Bharati who introduced Chidamabaram Pillai to Puducheriyar.

As decided by radical leaders at the Surat Congress, Bharati formed an association of youth in the name of 'Chennai Jana Sangham'. Bharati and his friends started a shop called 'Bharata Bhandar' to sell swadeshi goods.

The radical faction decided to observe a day in 1908 as Self-Rule day. Plans were made to celebrate the day with pomp in Madras. Chennai Jana Sangham decided to organize processions from many parts of Madras that would converge on Triplicane’s Bells Road and proceed to the beach via Pycrofts Road for a rally. Bharati, Ethiraj Surendranath Arya and a few more volunteers started organizing small meetings for two- three days ahead of the event, appealing to students and the public to join the processions.

On the appointed day, they planned to proceed to the beach from their meeting point at Bells Road-Pycrofts junction to the accompaniment of band music. Even though the police commissioner’s permission had been sought for taking out a musical procession along public streets, the licence was not granted. The music troupe hesitated to join them. Reassuring them with the words ‘I am with you, my brothers’, a garlanded Bharati led the procession to the beach to the thunderous accompaniment of drums and cymbals, as if he were a general commanding an army. A massive rally took place on the Marina sands. The police made no attempt to stop them.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 24 Aug 2012, 23:25

Cover and front page of the booklet published by Bharati in 1908 to spread the message of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, after his return from the Surat congress

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 25 Aug 2012, 03:56

This is sheer history!
Shows how Bharathy turned a 'radical' and was considered a danger to the Raj!
There were also those who vehemently supported the Raj who exploited the Caste/Religious feelings in the society. Though Bharathy valiantly fought against them it took the arrival of Gandhiji on the scene to fire up the Nation. Unfortunately it ended up in partition which still remains the biggest problem of the sub-continent.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 25 Aug 2012, 20:31

Sridhar, thank you! This is wonderful - to understand what went into the shaping of the most influential poet (at least for me) of the 20th century is priceless. IMO, all of these situations that he experienced are what ultimately shaped the poetry that emerged from his pen to have the burnished beauty and permanence of gold that had been tempered in a fiery furnace.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 25 Aug 2012, 23:07

viDudalai vELviyAmOr thIyilE
vArtha uyar ponnin guNamuNDu
em kaviyin sol ovvonRilumE!

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 26 Aug 2012, 08:24

This is not connected with Barathi...

The voice of Bal Gangadhar Tilak...The voice of Bal Gangadhar Tilak recorded 97 years ago. The clip was recorded when he addressed the audience during the Kesari Ganesh festival.
Addressing the gathering, Lokmanya Tilak had said, "The programme would go on as per schedule and Bhaskarbuwa will sing. I will not tolerate any nuisance by the audience. If you want, you can leave the venue. The programme will go on as per schedule. This is my wish."
He had further said, "I am not an expert on classical music, but I do know that Bhaskarbuwa is a great artiste. That is why I have invited him to perform here. I am proud of him. I thank him on behalf of everyone. With the blessings of Lord Ganesha I feel that he should perform again. I stop here and take your leave."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrCOupx2s9U

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 26 Aug 2012, 20:23

A song on Tilak...by Barathi....

http://bhaarathi.blogspot.in/2012/08/blog-post_25.html

There are many interesting episodes on Barathi at this link...

http://bhaarathi.blogspot.in

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 26 Aug 2012, 20:40

Thanks for that informative links...

kvchellappa · Post by **kvchellappa** » 27 Aug 2012, 09:53

If any one is interested, I will translate Bharathi's prose writings in the blogspot.

smala · Post by **smala** » 27 Aug 2012, 10:32

KVChellappa, please do. You have at least one person here, interested.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 27 Aug 2012, 20:38

Dear kvc
I havee created a new thread wherein you may post the translations from the blog and discuss.
http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19867
This thread need not lose its continuity
Thank you..

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 28 Aug 2012, 01:36

Meeting on the beach

Henry W. Nevinson, a famous British journalist, visited India in 1908 to report on the political rumblings taking place in the country. He met Tilak, Lajpat Rai and Gokhale in the north, and also Bharati down south. In his famous book ‘The New Spirit in India’, which he wrote upon his return to Britain, he dedicated a whole chapter entitled ‘On the beach’ to describe a meeting in Triplicane’s Tilak Ghat, presided over by Bharati and others. Nevinson even gave the meaning of three songs sung in the meeting by Bharati, ‘Tamil poet of Madras’. The essence of his description follows:

“It is evening time. The monsoon Sun is setting, spreading a dazzling array of colours in the sky. Just an odd coach or two is seen moving on the Marina. Young Anglo Indian men and women are returning home, tired after playing Polo or some other game. Traffic is ebbing. But on the sands, a crowd of four to five thousand surrounds a lamp-lit platform. They are mostly youth, attending a public meeting. They are assembled there to celebrate the freedom of Lala Lajpat Rai and Sardar Ajit Singh of recent fame in far away Punjab.

“The meeting started. A boy sings Bharati’s Tamil translation of the song vandE mAtaram in high pitch. After the song ends, thousands of voices thunder: ‘vande mataram’, ‘worship the mother’. The song is sweet and tender; not one that evokes rage and sounds revolutionary like ‘La Marseillaise’. But the mass slogan ‘vande mataram’ reverberated with revolutionary fervor.”

Now Bharati gets up to sing. Let us read about it in Nevinson’s words:

“After that nationalistic song, the Tamil poet of Madras started singing a grief-filled song he had composed at the time of Lala Lajpat Rai’s banishment. It evoked the common sentiment of all the exiled patriots: Sweet memories of one’s home, deep devotion to the country where one spent one’s younger days, the sorrow of living amidst aliens who speak an unfamiliar tongue, an all pervading loneliness – all of these were described in a simple and calm manner in that song. Then the poet changed his mood and entered the realm of sarcasm. He described a supposed conversation between people of India and John Morley, Secretary of State for India, on the topic of Home Rule.”

The first song was ‘LajapatirAyin pralApam’ (Lajpat Rai’s lament) starting with the line ‘nADizhandu makkaLaiyum nallALaiyum pirindu’ (Having lost the motherland, separated from children and wife). Subsequently he sang ‘toNDu Seyyum aDimai’ (slave who is meant to serve – a British Officer’s sermon to a freedom-seeking Indian), followed by the song that conveys the Indian’s reply to the Englishman, ‘sutantirap perumai’ (the grandeur of freedom).

A few others spoke after Bharati finished singing. Some explained at length, with logic worthy of admiration even by the British, the necessity of freedom and the Extremist viewpoint. In the end a holy man, tall and with a flowing beard, wearing ochre clothes, holding a staff in one hand, of Brahmin birth but now a believer in equality of all men, spoke about his recent meeting with Lajpat Rai and described Rai as an epitome of sacrifice, fearless in the service of his people. The crowd dispersed with cries of vande mataram. In spite of the charged atmosphere, there was no disorderliness, shouting or uproar in the meeting; it was such a peaceful event. Not even the meetings at London’s Trafalgar Square are so well organized. In spite of a public announcement that a meeting was being organized, there was not a single policeman at the spot. Not a single soldier either. There was simply no need for them. ‘As was to be expected, I was the lone European there’, exclaims Nevinson.

smala · Post by **smala** » 28 Aug 2012, 14:54

Thanks to kvchellapa and sridhar-rang, the translations are beautiful!

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 28 Aug 2012, 20:31

Picturesque..
I can visualize Bharathy singing at the beach...

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 31 Aug 2012, 11:59

Pic 1: The Mandayam Family: S. Partha Sarathy, Krishnamachariyar the father, S. Tirumalachariyar, Srinivasachariyar
Pic 2: Surendranath Arya, with his Swedish wife
Pic 3: Madame Cama, with the 'vande mataram' inscribed flag

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 31 Aug 2012, 12:06

The letter written by Bharati to his 'Guruji' Lokmanya Tilak on May 29, 1908

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 31 Aug 2012, 12:09

Letter to Lokmanya Tilak

The day in March 1908 when Bharatiyar celebrated ‘Home Rule Day’ in Madras with nary a challenge in a grand manner, was also the day that caused much turmoil in the towns of Tuticorin and Tirunelveli. V.O. Chidamabaram Pillai along with his friend Subramanya Sivam had organized a celebration of the day in Tirunelveli district. But, instigated by a few Europeans who were fearful of the growing success of VOC’s swadeshi shipping venture, the sub-collector of Tuticorin Robert William d’Escourt Ashe and the district collector and rabid colonialist Winch arrested the leaders, leading to large scale disturbances. Government buildings were set on fire; there was firing by the police; a few innocent lives were lost; the enraged people made sure that there was no rule of colonial law for three whole days.

Collector Winch tried his best to intimidate the arrested leaders Pillai and Sivam, but to no avail. Bharati’s song on this incident is very famous. Bharati had to go to Tuticorin as a witness in the case. He met the two leaders in prison.

The ‘special correspondent news’, published by Bharati in his India news magazine, informed that VOC remained cheerful in prison, not unlike the way Kamban described Rama’s face as that of a fresh red lotus bloom as seen on a painting (‘chittirattin alarnda SentAmarai ottirukkum mugam’ ** a real lotus bloom closes itself at night, whereas a lotus on a painting is always fully bloomed) .

Around the time VOC and Sivam were arrested in the South, repression was unleashed elsewhere in the country too. Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh were arrested in the Panjab.

Under the circumstances, Bharati wrote a letter to his Guru, Lokmanya Tilak, on May 29, 1908. It is reproduced on the facing page. The contents of the letter follow:

“The Bala Bharata Office, Triplicane, Madras 29th May 1908
To: Sriman B.G. Tilak, Poona

Dear Guruji,

I have received a letter from Krishna Varma, asking us to start a Hindi class in Madras through the auspices of the Chennai Jana Sangham. We have already started a small class. I hope it will be fairly well attended in due course of time. I shall inform of its progress later on.

We have decided to hold a national provincial conference in Madras on the lines marked out in the Calcutta Congress. What about the next Congress? What has become of the national committee? Our secretary Mr. Chidambaram is gone now, you know where! Please ask Mr. Kelkar to correspond with our group by mail on this matter.

Yours affectionately, C. Subramania Bharati”

It was in the Calcutta Congress of 1906 that the grand old man Dadabhai proclaimed “freedom is my birth right”. Due to the intolerant attitude of the Congress moderates, the next Surat Congress in 1907 ended in uproar. The radicals started The New Party under Tilak’s leadership.

The statement with a hidden meaning “you know the present whereabouts of our secretary Chidamabaram” and making a friendly request to Tilak’s secretary Kelkar to write about this are significant aspects of this letter.

Bharati conveys that they (members of the radical group) were not sitting idle in Madras, through the messages about having started a Hindi class and convening the provincial conference.

smala · Post by **smala** » 31 Aug 2012, 21:13

I am steeped into a time I can only imagine, but imagine vividly, I can! thanks to the flowing accounts, pics and the translation. Very very engrossing stuff, heart-wrenching at times.

maduraimini · Post by **maduraimini** » 01 Sep 2012, 00:26

Sridhar-rang:

Thanks for the pictures and info on all the happenings in the South. The translation is smooth sailing and flows along well. Thank you so much for your effort to continue the mammoth effort Arasi took to translate this work. These pictures give us a face to the names we read. I hope this makes the younger generation to stop and think about all these patriots who fought for the freedom we are enjoying today.

I am surprised to see that there were no policemen around at the Beach when the swadeshis had their meeting. The Raj always made sure there were police nearby, even if it was a peaceful meeting.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 01 Sep 2012, 14:47

The bird has taken flight

Government repression reared its ugly head in 1908. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was arrested and sentenced to six years’ rigorous imprisonment. They took him to the Mandalay prison in Burma. It is to be noted that Burma was a province of India till 1935.

In the South, the lawyer from Tuticorin, V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, was arrested when he went to meet collector Winch. He was sentenced to 40 years in exile. Subramania Siva, a young leader who worked for the radical party was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Even G. Subramania Iyer had been arrested in Madras. It was becoming clear that it won’t take long for Bharati to be arrested.
Perhaps as a first step towards arresting Bharati, or even with the express purpose of arresting him, a warrant was issued in the name of Editor, India.

A policeman arrived in the India journal’s office carrying this warrant. (India was then being published from 34, Broadway. This is the second building to the north of the Danish Mission Church, still in existence. Nowadays it is used as a godown for leather goods)

The office was on the first floor. Bharati was just then coming down the stairs. The policeman thrust the warrant towards him. Bharati went through it. He noticed that the warrant was for ‘Editor, India’. Saying ‘Oh, you are looking for the editor? That’s not me’, he walked away.

Bharati was not lying. Even though he was carrying out the role of India’s editor, officially he was not its editor. As per records, the editor was one Murappakkam Srinivasan. This Srinivasan was a close friend and schoolmate of India’s publisher S.N. Tirumalacharya. The police took Srinivasan away.

That the same fate as Srinivasan awaited Bharati and India’s publishers came as nobody’s surprise. Bharati was secretly alerted by some friends within the police that it was only a matter of time before a warrant was issued for his arrest. Bharati and his friends got into a conference. V. Krishnaswamy Iyer opined that it was better for Bharati to be away from Chennai. It was decided that Bharati should go to Puduchery, which was under French rule. Srinivasachariyar gave a letter of introduction addressed to Chitti Kuppuswami Iyengar, one of his friends in Puduchery.

Bharatiyar did not fear staying on in Madras. But friends insisted that continuing to run India from Puduvai was a better thing to do than getting arrested. Besides, in those pre-Gandhi days, leaders such as Tilak did not believe that it was possible to wage a peaceful struggle against the British by remaining in prison. They had a focussed determination to keep the fight going.

Puduvai was not a place Bharati was familiar with. He knew no one there. Still he agreed to move there.

The next night, Bharati travelled by train to Puduchery, buying a ticket at Saidapet. The police were completely unaware of this.

To the Chennai residents goes the credit of transforming Puduchery into a political sanctuary; till then it had been a place of asylum for debtors. Bharati was the first to enact this – it was only after him that political leaders such as Aurobindo Ghosh sought refuge in Puduchery.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 01 Sep 2012, 20:53

Fascinating History!

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 02 Sep 2012, 13:19

Clockwise from top left:

1. The old light house of Pondicherry
2. The palace of the Governor of French India - the beautiful sculpture of Lord Varaha, brought by the French from Chenji (Gingee) is in the forefront
3. Many tall granite pillars with ornate carvings brought from Chenji have been put up along Puduchery's beach. One such pillar with a relief of Venugopala.
4. Platform on granite pillars: Governor Dupleix's statue had been installed on a raised platform supported by the ornate granite pillars from Chenji. These pillars are now in a nearby park. The Dupleix statue is in a museum; in its place stands a statue of Nehruji.
5. Iron Pier: Now rusted and almost destroyed, this iron pier stretched for half a mile into the sea opposite to the present Gandhi statue's location. People used to go for an evening stroll on the pier and have relaxed chats sitting on the benches there.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 02 Sep 2012, 13:31

1. Kuvalai Kannan - the great man who helped Bharati in Puduchery in 1908 and later rescued him from under the elephant's feet in Triplicane in 1921
2. Swaminatha Dikshitar with sons V.S. Kunchitapaadam and V.S. Mahadevan. A family of scholars who became Bharati's friends in Puduvai
3. A few important streets in Puduchery (English version follows in next post)

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 02 Sep 2012, 13:40

A rough re-work of the Pondicherry map in the above post, with English text:

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 02 Sep 2012, 14:03

First day in Puduchery

It was an unfamiliar place; the circumstances dictated that he couldn’t reveal his identity; it was not in his nature to go around asking for help. The anguish Bharati went through on his first day in Puduchery cannot be described.

Staying awake all night in the train which reached Puduvai before dawn, Bharati waited in the station until day break and reached Chitti Kuppuswamy Iyengar’s residence on Perumal Temple Street in the morning. He was carrying a letter addressed to Kuppuswamy Iyengar.

Iyengar welcomed Bharati with courtesy and offered him breakfast. A tired Bharati went to sleep on the pyol ('tinnai') of the house, without waiting for lunch.

Two days went by in Iyengar’s home. By now, the Madras Police, having come to know that Bharati was not in the city, mounted a search for him. In another couple of days, they got to know about his presence in Puduchery. That was a defining moment; from then on he came under the firm watch of the police, which was to continue till the end of his life.

Chitti Kuppuswamy Iyengar was not a person of great influence. He was just a man of ordinary means and a small time trader. The henchmen of the British Police, through fear or favour, tried to get Iyengar to expel Bharati from his home. Since Puduchery was a French territory, they could not take any direct action. But in the days before the first world war, Puduchery was in many ways dependent on the British. This was very useful to the British agents: they tried brain washing Iyengar through his relatives that Bharati was a political miscreant and it was a great danger to keep him as a guest.

Iyengar, being a man of honour, could not ask his guest to leave the house. At the same time, he was getting worried that Bharati’s continued stay in his house would invite trouble.

Bharati, realizing the situation, was growing perturbed. He started feeling a great deal of agitation over causing trouble to an innocent man.
It was then that Kuvalai Kannan arrived on the scene as a god-send, ‘coming out of nowhere’ (‘engirundO vandAn’).

KuvaLai KaNNan was the nick name of a young man called KuvaLaiyUr Krishnamachari. He was from Puduchery and a relative of Kuppuswamy Iyengar. He had studied in Calve College for ten years.

Kuvalai Kannan has written describing the scene of his first meeting with Bharatiyar in Puduvai.

Kuvalai Kannan used to visit often the home of V.S. Swaminatha Dikshitar, the principal of Calve College. Even in those days of popular craze for English, Dikshitar used to read India without fail, and used to praise it as the best among the Tamil journals. Hearing this, Kuvalai started to borrow & read copies of India.

After some days, Dikshitar mentioned to Kuvali that he was not himself the subscriber of India, and that the copies were subscribed to by one Sundaresa Iyer. So Kuvalai had to befriend Sundaresayyar. Now let us read in Kuvalai’s own words the story of how he met Bharati, without realizing his true identity at the time:

“My father in law’s residence used to be in Perumal Koil street in Puduvai. Next door to the west of it was the home of my sister in law. As I was walking along the pyol-edge of that house one day, I saw a stranger sitting on the pyol and asked him to introduce himself. Without revealing that he was Bharati, he said that he was from Chennai and was new in Puduchery; we conversed for at least an hour.

“In the middle of our conversation he asked if I knew anyone in town who subscribed to the India magazine. I told him that I knew a person who subscribed to India. Bharati asked if I could introduce him to me.

“I told him ‘if you come with me, I will show you the person’. He came along with me right away, with great excitement. We went to Sundaresa Iyer’s place.”

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 02 Sep 2012, 19:58

kvchellappa wrote: ... ... Besides, a red house situated opposite Kapaliswarar tank in Mylapore was the doctor’s house.

Pratyaksham Bala wrote: The first time I visited the house was in 1963 when I was staying in a lodge at East Mada Street. Fifteen years after that I was lucky to live in a similar house at Nungambakkam for a few years. May be, that was one of the prestigeous house designs a hundred years back.

PB
May I know what house are you talking about in Nungambakkam. Is that still there?

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 02 Sep 2012, 20:51

It is not just History but lessons in Geography too!
Folks! Keep up the Good Work....
... and THANKS!

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 03 Sep 2012, 18:42

Two Comrades

Sndaresa Iyer was not home. He was a clerk in the warehouse of a groundnut merchant, S. Kuppusami Iyer. Bharati and Kuvalai Kannan went to the warehouse. Making Bharati wait outside the godown, Kuvalai went inside and informed Sundaresa Iyer that there was someone from Chennai to see him. Sundaresa Iyer came out.

“The two of them walked off and were engaged in a secret conversation some distance away. I took their leave that night and went home. When I bumped into Sundaresayyar two or three days later, I asked him ‘where is the gentleman I brought over to you?’ to which he replied that he had put him up in a house and was taking care of him. It was a whole year after our friendship began that I came to know that the gentleman was Sri Subramania Bharati.”

All through his Puduchery days, Kuvalai Kannan and Sundaresa Iyer were two pillars of support to Bharati. Kuvalai passed away in Madras in September of 1939.

Kuvalai was not a scholar; but he had enduring devotion to Bharati. Even in 1939 he had a remarkable memory. Bharati had assigned Kuvalai the task of making copies of his poems and memorizing them. (In his song ‘Kannan en SIDan’ or ‘Kannan my Disciple’, Bharati has shared this fact). Even in 1939, Kuvalai could recite without a mistake the songs he had memorized three decades earlier.

Kuvalai was a very capable person. Bharati has sung his praise in the song ‘Kuvalai Kannan Pugazh’ (Euloogy to Kuvalai Kannan) as part of the compilation ‘Bharati Sixty Six’. Some of Bharati’s praise-laden references to Kuvalai include: ‘ganatta pugazhk kuvaLaiyUrk kaNNan enbAn’ (Kuvalaiyur Kannan worthy of great praise), ‘pArppArak kulattinilE piRandAn kaNNan; paRaiyaraiyum maRavaraiyum nigarAk koNDAn, tIrppAna suruti vazhic cErndAn kaNNan’ (kaNNan was born a Brahmin, yet treated dalits and maRavars as equals, he followed the path of the vEdas), ‘migat tAnum uyarnda tunivuDaiya nenjin vIrar pirAn kuvaLaiyUrk kaNNan enbAn’ (kuvalaiyur kannan the brave heart, of high valour). It was this great man, so much the object of Bharati’s approval, who later in 1921 jumped in without a second thought to rescue Bharati from under the elephant’s feet in Triplicane and carried him to safety.

Sundaresa Iyer was also of humble means. He later lost his clerk’s job of 20 years, because of providing help to Bharati. Police agents managed to scare his employer and caused him to be thrown out of the job. In spite of all this, even when reduced to poverty, Sundaresa Iyer kept up his support to Bharati, such was his nobleness.

Compared to Kuvalai, Sundaresa Iyer was a more learned person. He had a better appreciation of Bharati’s political and linguistic skills. The friendship of these two persons came as a breath of fresh air in Bharati’s new life in Puduvai.

In his later days in Puduvai, Bharati started an association called ‘Tamil vaLarppu sangham’ (Tamil Development Association). Sundaresa Iyer was among those who stood in support of this initiative. Those who joined the association had to pay three rupees in 3 equal instalments over a 2 month period. The plan was to deliver books worth five rupees to the enrolled subscribers, books in simple Tamil on such topics as science, literary works from other languages, works of prose, books that helped inculcate good behaviour and affinity to the nation, etc.

To advertise this scheme, Bharati wanted to print handbills. Those were the days of world war and anything to be printed needed government approval. Sundaresa Iyer sent in a request on behalf of the association. The government denied permission for this ‘dangerous pursuit’.

Once Sundaresa Iyer and Bharati had some misunderstanding and were not on talking terms for four months. Eventually Bharati started yearning for his friendship. When they met after this, it is said that Bharati wrote a poem ‘enganam SenRirundIr’ (எங்ஙனம் சென்றிருந்தீர் - How could you stay away?)**. Kuvalai Kannan has pointed out that this was mistakenly published under the title ‘Saraswati stotram’.

Sudaresa Iyer passed away in 1955.

** - enganam SenRirundIr is indeed a poignant apology in poem, with phrases like 'mAdamOr nAngAy nIr anbu vaRumaiyilE ennai vIzhtti viTTIr' (for four months you left me suffer from poverty of friendship), 'aNmaiyil irundiDuvIr, ini aDiyanaip pirindiDal ARRuvanO' (stay close; will I be able to bear the indifference any further?), 'mAyaiyil aRivizhandE ummai madippadu maRandanan' (I lost my mind due to mAyA and stopped according you respect), etc.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 03 Sep 2012, 18:56

Top Right: Sundaresa Iyer, the clerk who worked for a peanut merchant who in spite of his own poverty helped Bharati extensively, at times even by pledging his wife's jewellery

Left: Cover page & cartoon of India's Puduchery edition, issue 31 dated 15th May, 1909 (Sowmya, Vaikasi 2nd). The cartoon is titled "Grahana Vimochanam" and is in celebration of Aurobindo's acquittal in the Alipore bombing case. It is interesting to note the motto of France on the masthead: Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite along with its Tamil translation 'swatantiram, samattuvam, sahodarattuvam'.

Bottom Right: India issue 46 dated 4th Sep 1909 (Sowmya, Avani 20) with a front page cartoon celebrating the 84th birthday of Dadabhai Naoroji (b. 4th Sep 1825 in Bombay). The write-up states that 'Sriyuta Dadabhai Naoroji' presided over three Indian National Congress sessions, and coined the divine slogan on 'Swarajya' when he was presiding over the Calcutta Congress in 1908. Long Live our Dada. Dadabhai Naoroji Jai! Jai!! Jai!!!.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 03 Sep 2012, 20:49

Sridhar - thank you for the translation of these poignant vignettes - they bring us a visual picture of the great man, as well as the amazing people he inspired, who stood with him in eternal friendship.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 08 Sep 2012, 13:30

Puduchery “India”

Sonn after Bharati set foot on Puduvai, things started moving fast. Mandayam Srinivasachariyar and S.N. Tirumalachariyar came to Puduchery as well.
Within a month of Bharati’s reaching Puduvai, the India printing press had secretly been carted away to Puduvai. This, in those days, was no mean achievement. India was published from Chennai until 5th September, 1908. It started roaring again from Puduchery from 10th October.

As per law, only a French citizen was allowed to be in charge of any journal published from Puduvai. So they arranged for one S. Lakshmi Narayana Iyer to get the necessary permission in his name to start the journal. Saraswati Printing Press was born at 58, Etranger Street, Puduchery. Within two weeks, India once again started breathing fire.

In its Puduvai version, India at first came out in small size, like its original version. From its second year (October 1909) onwards, once again it was published in large format until its final edition dated 19 March, 1910.

As was the case in Chennai, the front and a few inside pages contained political cartoons. Besides, India also carried the portraits of many nationalists and patriots.

Bharati’s ‘gnaana ratham’ continued to find a place in the Puduvai India. A few poems were also featured. The famous poem ‘Vazhiya Sentamizh’ had pride of place in the first anniversary edition of Puduvai India on 16-10-1909, under the title ‘New Year’.

The activities of many nationalists were covered in large measure. Even though Bharati did not believe in ‘bomb culture’, there was a regular feature under the section heading ‘Agitation in India’ which covered news of bomb blasts and killings of political/ official figures. Even news from other countries was covered under ‘Reuters News’. Events such as Turkey’s independence and the independence of Persia were covered, evoking patriotic fervor. There was also coverage of the shooting of a British officer by Madanlal Dhingra, a follower of the Savarkar-Dr. Rajan-V.V.S Iyer faction, and the protests organized by Mohandas Gandhi in Southern Africa.

A few other news items covered in India include: the case of sedition against VO Chidambaram Pillai and Subramania Siva for organizing self-rule day celebrations; the attempts to keep the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company running; the appeal for funds by Pillai’s wife to enable filing an appeal in the Privy Council against her husband’s sentence; the news of VOC being met in the Coimbatore prison by his father and another close friend, Parali Su. Nellaiyappar; the suicide attempt by Surendranath Arya, unable to bear the cruelties he faced in jail; translations of the superb speeches by Aurobindo Ghosh; and Swami Vivekananda’s words of wisdom.

Each of the editorials was an excellent essay with an appeal to the patriotic spirit. Many editorials under the headings, Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood, and a few more under headings such as 'The People of India', 'Poetry and Sculpture' were published.

The last 4 or 5 pages of the news magazine were filled with advertisements India’s worth was well known even to manufacturers and sellers of gold laced garments (pitambaram) made of Benaras silk, many types of books, novelty goods, and virility supplements. Even in Puduchery, India did not struggle to get advertisements. This is a matter of great surprise even today.

In another first-of-its kind move not seen until today, India offered payment to readers sending in briefs, in simple Tamil, of happenings around them and news from small towns and villages.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 08 Sep 2012, 13:35

A few India editorials. The second editorial page from the issue dated Sep 4, 1908 includes an excellent editorial under the heading 'The People of India' and a sub-editorial with Bharati's opinion on bombings, entitled 'Sriman Madan Lal Dhingra'

The image I have is not very clear, with a few undecipherable paragraphs; I can attempt a translation once I get hold of a clearer copy.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 08 Sep 2012, 14:39

Tribute to Gandhi – in 1909!

Bharatiyar was among the few who realized early the greatness of Mahatma Gandhi as a leader of Indian people. Our Mahakavi has heaped praise on Barrister Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi when he organized protests in South Africa in 1909, seeking improvement of the Indians’ lot. He collected and sent money for the Indian struggle in South Africa, including a personal contribution of five rupees.

In his wonderful foresight, Bharati could see that Gandhi’s Satyagraha Movement was based on dharma and steeped in Indian values, and that he was a great leader for the future.

The South African government arrested Gandhiji in 1909, when he returned from a mission in London representing South African Indians. Bharati published a cartoon and an accompanying explanation of this event.

The picture on the facing page was published in India edition of 18-12-1909. The notes below the picture said: “Shri Gandhi the cow returned from England after negotiating for the welfare of its calves viz. other Indians, only to be imprisoned in Transvaal. The tigers i.e. South African officialdom put him in jail without realizing his eminence.”

A further explanation was provided: “many of us know this old happening, chronicled in our Hindu Puranas. A cow, which was caught by a tiger in a forest, having realized that it had not yet fed milk to its calf, made an appeal thus: ‘He Prabhu! Today I have not yet discharged my duty, I have not fed my calf. So if you allow me, I will now go feed my calf and return pronto to be eaten by you. You must show mercy.’

“The tiger thought for a while and decided to test the honesty of the cow, and told it to go but insisted that the cow should return as soon as it was finished with the job.

“The cow then went back to feed its calf, handed it over to another cow who was her friend, returned to the tiger and said, ‘I salute you for letting me carry out my dharma. You may prey on me now’

“The tiger, so surprised at this, refused to eat the cow and fasted to its death, saying ‘oh goddess of righteousness, what lowly fate awaits me if I were to eat you! enough of my bad deeds’

“See what the South African tigers are doing to our righteous cow, Sriman Gandhi? We saw that in Hindustan, even an unlettered tiger could not stop the flow of dharma and kindness. But only in this age of kali do we see such savage animals in human form, supposedly noble Englishmen, who treat the Indians (who indeed helped them) worse than even a tiger.”

Much later, Bharati sang the praise of Gandhi in his famous poem ‘vaazhga nI emmAn...puvikkuLLE mudanmai petRAi’ (Long live oh father! You are supreme among men). But Bharati’s vision was such that even in 1909, when people were not at all aware of Gandhi in India, he published this picture and the write-up.

Mandayam Srinivasachar says, ‘Even swami Vivekananda in his final days was highly worried about the nation’s future. But it is a great wonder that Bharati had the clear foresight of India’s good fortune which forces of nature revealed to him, and he could predict that the whole world would one day be elevated by the Gandhian way’.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 08 Sep 2012, 14:41

The picture published by Bharati along with the story in the above post

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 08 Sep 2012, 19:22

Great work, Sridhar! Your workload did not deter you from finding precious time in bringing to us the flame that Bharathi was, in his India days. Thanks...
I loved the cartoon when I first looked at it. How the young Gandhi is captured there!

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 08 Sep 2012, 20:44

Very touching!
The face on the cow is appropriate for that time as arasi points out!
Thaks sridhar_rang
for not only capturing the words but also the spirit!

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 09 Sep 2012, 12:46

Vijaya – a Daily from Puduchery

Towards the end of his first year in Puduvai, Bharati found his energy levels growing. This in turn excited him to venture into many new initiatives.
India grew even more in popularity after starting the Puduvai edition, once its voice had been choked in Madras. It was easier to attack the British rule from the French-Indian sanctuary of Puduchery. Within a year of bringing India to Puduvai, Bharati and his friends planned to bring one more publication connected with Bharati to Puduvai from Chennai.

Vijaya the Tamil daily was being brought out from Triplicane High Road in Chennai. It featured fiery write-ups in support of the ‘New Tenets’ of the Congress i.e. the radical faction. Even when it was being published from Chennai, there were advertisements about Vijaya in the Puduvai India. Finally, it was announced in India that Vijaya will be published from Puduvai from the Krishna Jayanti issue of 7-9-1909.

Vijaya was in fact started by Tirumalachar, older brother of Mandayam Srinivasachar, to make up for the absence of India in Chennai. Since even the new journal could not escape the British Government’s interference in its functioning, it too moved to Puduvai. It came out again from the Krishna Jayanti day of 1909.

Bharati never showed any mercy to anyone, even his own kith and kin, when it came to the national cause. He did not hesitate to criticise V. Krishnaswamy Iyer, the philanthropist who helped print Bharati’s poems at first, when they ended up in opposing camps.

By the end of 1909, V. Krishnaswamy Iyer accepted a position as judge and faced a barrage of questions from his own friends as to how a nationalist like him could accept such a position. Bharati went as far as saying that accepting a job in the judiciary was tantamount to treachery against the motherland. The editorial he wrote at the time in Vijaya is an excellent example of his debating skills and forceful writing.

Bharati chastises Iyer thus: “Oy Krishnaswamy IyerE! You say that you people (moderates) are in no way less patriotic than Tilak’s faction. Tomorrow, if one of your extremist comrades is brought to court by the police, you will be forced to show your mercy and kindness by sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment; will that be an act of patriotism too?”

By the end of 1909, Bharati and his friends started bringing out many more publications. ‘Karma Yogi’, a Tamil version of Aurobindo Ghosh’s new English monthly ‘Karma Yogin’ was planned to be brought out from Krishna Jayanti day 1909, and was actually published from January 1910. We can guess that there was an opportunity to sell several thousand copies of these journals, from the advance notice that “only a thousand copies” of Karma Yogi would be printed.

There was an advertisement on 4th December 1909 to the effect that another monthly, Chitravali, would be published from the India office. It was announced that this would be full of pictures and cartoons, and the notes under the pictures would be in both Tamil and English. But it is not known if this monthly saw the light of day. Had it been brought out, it would have been the first full-feature cartoon journal in India. Bharati has thus been a pioneer in more ways than one, being a perfect role model to Indian journalism.

Apart from these, ‘Bala Bharata’, another Chennai based English weekly, was sought to be published from Puduchery.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 09 Sep 2012, 12:54

Left: Advertisement in India issue dated 4-9-1909 that Vijaya, nationalist Tamil daily, would be published from Puduchery from 7-9-1909 onwards.

Right: Front Page of Vijaya...the tag line says 'published daily, in the evening'

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 09 Sep 2012, 19:15

Bharathy must have had prodigious energy with all these Journalistic activities in the midst of his poetic efforts.
Truly he was a 'dashaavadhani'!

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 11 Sep 2012, 10:13

(Today, Sep 11, marks the 91st anniversary of the passing away of our Mahakavi)

Why Bharati started Karma Yogi

Though Bharati was connected with many journals, Karma Yogi the monthly has a special significance, since it was something he ran entirely on his own.

Thanks to a crisis situation that emerged towards the end of his first year’s stay in Puduchery, Bharati seriously considered starting a magazine of his own that would provide an opportunity to showcase his deep insights and journalistic skills.

Mandayam Srinivasachar, who ran India in Puduchery, was a cultured and affable gentleman. Coming from a family of staunch patriots, he worked as a Professor of French in Rajamahendrapuram in Andhra, before leaving that to take up publishing journals as a profession. Krishnamachar, his father, even when he once had to live in Puduchery for family reasons, ran an English daily called ‘Indian Republic’ which campaigned for India becoming a republic. We saw that Tirumalachar, the elder brother of Srinivasachar, started the daily Vijaya in Puduchery to make up for the loss of India, which ceased to exist in Chennai. Parthasarathy, the younger brother, travelled the length and breadth of India and even went to Nepal, to raise additional share capital to run the floundering Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company, after its founder VO Chidambaram Pillai went to jail.

Srinivasachar was an extremist in his political views. Otherwise he was a staunch believer in Vedic principles. Bharati and he had a fundamental difference of opinion: Srinivasachar supported armed struggle for freedom, alongside other methods; Bharati, from the beginning, was opposed to assassinations, guerrilla war methods, and armed resistance. It was his firm belief that assassination of individuals did not fit the Indian culture.

When Madanlal Dhingra, an Indian youth, shot dead a British official by name Curzon Wyllie in 1909, Bharati condemned this culture of killings in an India editorial. A crisis erupted in the India office in Puduchery due to the differing viewpoints of editor Bharati and publisher Srinivasachar. But the close affection the two had for each other helped them overcome the difficulty.

In the same year, Srinivasachar had to go to Chennai for a few months and he appointed R.A. Srirangachariyar, the husband of his sister-in-law, as in charge of the India office in Puduvai. The disciplinarian Srirangachar insisted that Bharati should spend time in the office as per the daily working hours. A heated debate ensued. Bharati argued harshly that he was only a contributor of editorial subject matter, and his payment was in line with that; if he had to stay in the office throughout the day, the salary had to be increased proportionately. Words flew thick and fast. Srirangachar almost ended up physically assaulting Bharati. Thankfully, the two of them were separated by N. Nagasamy, an India employee, who took Bharati out of the office.

Nagasamy arranged for Bharati to become the editor of a local Tamil weekly ‘Suryodayam’ on the same day. The person who ran this weekly was a famous printing press owner in Pondicherry called Saigon Chinnaiah Naidu. (Full details of this can be seen in Nagasamy’s article in the book, “Patriots in Puduchery”)

Srinivasachar returned to Puduvai after a few months and managed to pacify Bharati. He brought back Bharati as India’s editor.

These experiences led Bharati to seriously consider starting a journal of his own.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 11 Sep 2012, 10:20

Cover of the second issue of Karma Yogi, dated February 1910. The picture on the cover was printed using a hand-carved block.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 11 Sep 2012, 11:59

Karma Yogi – A High Class Monthly

Karma Yogi the monthly was superior in print quality and editorial content.

While Bharati planned to bring out his own magazine from Krishna Jayanti day 1909, it did not materialize. Instead of Avani (Aug-Sep), it was finally published around Pongal in the month of tai, in January 1910. Those who read it thought very high of it. Bharati was a happy man.

Karma Yogi was a cultural periodical. The material published in it belonged to a higher plane. The printing was superior as well. The objective of the monthly was clearly enunciated in the tag line as “a monthly Tamil journal expounding Arya Dharma, and Hindustan’s Arts and Craft, Literature, Sastras and Political Happenings.”

The writing style was clear and appealing in a novel way, with overall aesthetics that carried Bharati’s stamp. It mentioned C. Subramania Bharati as editor.

On the front cover, the name of the magazine was typecast in attractive large font. But what captures our attention on the cover is the beautiful illustration of gItOpadESam (Lord Krishna’s sermon to Arjuna on the battle field). It is difficult to believe that this illustration, which shows Krishna and Arjuna in the battlefield, with minute details of chariots and soldiers in the background, was made from a carved block of wood or lead. It was not common in those days for photographic blocks to be used in printing in the south.

Inside the illustration was a box, containing a quotation from the Gita: ‘so the self-realized person must do his duty for the common good, with detachment' - a proof of Bharati’s refined mindset.

On top of the front page are the words, “Regn No 862’ and the date. At the bottom are subscription details, below the illustration of Krishna and Arjuna.

Subscription was two rupees for a year, 1-1/4 rupees for half-year, while overseas subscription was fixed at 3 rupees. A single issue cost one quarter of a rupee.

Advertisement tariff was five rupees for a full page, with concessions for multiple insertions over a long term, details of which were provided on written request.

The front inside cover contained the index. The bottom half of the inside cover had two advertisements. One was an ad for wrist watches from the M.A. Gadala Company in Chittoor, then in North Arcot district. For a sum of three rupees, it promised a watch and a beautiful chain with a 10 year guarantee, 100 post cards in multiple colours, delivered home free of postage. ‘Satisfaction guaranteed or you get your money back’ – wow!

The other one was an in-house advertisement for the book ‘Janma Bhoomi - Price: 2 annas’ from Karma Yogi itself. This was the second anthology of Bharati’s poems in the series ‘Swadesa Gitangal’. The advertisement carried an endorsement from the proprietor of ‘Sentamizh’ magazine in Madurai that he had goose pimples reading the enthralling poems. Another ad was for VOC’s book ‘manam pola vazhvu’.

Thirty pages of Karma Yogi were allotted for editorial matter. The first editorial page had a Bharati poem in eight lines, ‘Maha Saktikku Vinnappam’ (an appeal to Maha Sakti) beginning with the lines ‘eNNiya muDidal vENDum’ (‘may our wishes be fulfilled’).

In the second issue of Karma Yogi we read about, there were many articles and poems on such topics as ‘Arya Sambandhi’, ‘an intimate conversation between Krishna and our reader’, ,bhagawad gita’, ‘things a present day Hindu must know’, ‘bhakti’, ‘verse section’, ‘a letter on self enquiry’, ‘homeland’, ‘national anthem’, ‘the ancient temples of Ajanta’, ‘unity is strength’, picture of ‘corridor of Bethesda(?) cave temple’, etc.

Some of these articles were reproduced in the book ‘Bharati Pudaiyal PeruntiraTTu’ (A collection of Bharati Treasures). ‘Conversation between Krishna and our reader’ was a tastefully written imaginary letter to the reader from Lord Krishna. 'Sudesam' (homeland) was an essay written by VO Chidambaram Pillai. It may be noted that VOC was in jail at that time.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 11 Sep 2012, 12:02

Inside cover and first page of the second issue of Karma Yogi. Bharati's poem 'eNNiya muDidal vENDum' is on the first page.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 11 Sep 2012, 20:09

Thanks
Will we get to see the article?
‘Conversation between Krishna and our reader’

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 12 Sep 2012, 00:03

Will we get to see the article?
‘Conversation between Krishna and our reader’

if the article is available in public domain, KVC can bring it to us in the Bharathy prose translation thread.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 12 Sep 2012, 00:46

sridhar_rang wrote:(Today, Sep 11, marks the 91st anniversary of the passing away of our Mahakavi)

I did not realize that the two-minute silence we observed today (in memory of the 9/11 anniversary) was also on behalf of the kaviarasar. I am not likely to forget - thank you Sridhar!