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

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 30 Oct 2012, 20:25

Nice informative episodes. Va Raa apparently followed Bharathy to Chennai. He has narrated the episode of Bharathy meeting with Gandhiji. When he cam to meet Gandhiji first he was denied access but later Gandhi spotted him and asked Rajaji as to who he was since he saw a spark of energy in his eyes. Rajaji mentioned that he was one of those poets non chalantly but Gandhi said that he was vital for the freedom struggle. Va Raa had reported it later in a magazine (kalki?).

Bharathy dasan is extolled by the DK clan who totally ignore Bharathy. The only criteria was that he admired EVR and has nothing to do with his scholarship in Tamil! That is politics

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 30 Oct 2012, 20:29

Arasi
Let us not multiply Bharathy threads. If there is going to be more translations from chitra bharathy it makes sense to isolate them.
If this is an isolate posting then we can wait. Pl advise...

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 30 Oct 2012, 21:00

Oops I seem to have posted 119 and 120 above by mistake here, thanks Arasi for pointing it out.

CML, these belong in the 'Oy Bharathiyare' thread as part of the chitra bharathi series, kindly move them there including your comment above on va raa....thanks and sorry for the trouble.

ninjathegreat · Post by **ninjathegreat** » 30 Oct 2012, 23:29

Fascinating! I only wish we could take a historical documentary on this subject; the likes of the BBC documentaries that can keep us riveted for hours!!!

arasi - Family is going great. I see my daughter about every 2 weeks - but she get her earful of carnatic music then

!!

Govindaswamy · Post by **Govindaswamy** » 01 Nov 2012, 05:05

#573 to #578 are given the wrong heading Translations of Bharathy's Prose Writings

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 01 Nov 2012, 05:08

That cannot be helped. They were posted by mistake in the other thread and moved over here!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 01 Nov 2012, 07:50

Thanks for moving Sridhar's posts here, CML!
This way, Chithra Bharathi translations continue here, where they belong.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 04 Nov 2012, 23:12

The wealthy family that supported Bharati: Ponnu Murugesam Pillai who helped Bharati in many ways, along with his wife Soundarammal; their son Kanaka Raja (below); Raja Bahadur, the elder son (bottom). The two sons were Bharati devotees.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 04 Nov 2012, 23:20

Service of an affluent family

After Vanchi Iyer shot dead Collector Ashe and killed himself in 1911, the Swadeshi leaders and all their acquaintances in Puduchery came under police watch. It was impossible for anyone in Puduvai who was not courageous to even get near Bharati.

Under such trying times, three close friends who remained as pillars of support to Bharati were Sundaresayyar, Ponnu Murugesam PIllai and Kalavai Sankaran Chettiyar, according to Va. Raa.

Ponnu Murugesam Pillai was a wealthy man who lived two or three houses away from Bharati. He had good knowledge of French. He was an atheist, who used to argue that there was no God. He used to tease Bharati about his belief in God and loved to start arguments with him. He did not provide any monetary assistance to Bharati, but sold the grains from his farms to the likes of Bharati and Aiyar at cheaper prices than he could get in the market.

Even though he never gave any money, Pillai gave away his entire house & dedicated his family to Bharati’s service. More often Bharati would stay at Pillai’s house, in an exclusive room on the first floor. It had become Bharati’s room. Sometimes Bharati even stayed back overnight.

Murugesam Pillai’s wife Anniyammal (a) Soundarammal was a virtuous Hindu grihalakshmi. She would feed Bharati in a timely manner with food and light snacks. Just like their mother, her sons Raja Bahadur and Kanaka Raja too started being of service to Bharati. It can even be said that they became Bharati’s bodyguards.

Bharati was like a spoilt brat, out of control. All of a sudden a poem would ‘come’ to him, and he would sing in a loud voice. He would spit on the floor right from where he was sitting. There would be nary a whisper in the Pillai household about such behaviour of Bharati.

Before the start of the First Great War, Raja Bahadur the elder son of Pillai went to Paris to study engineering. The war started about the time he was to have returned to Puduvai after completing his studies. Pillai had made grand arrangements to receive his beloved son, but instead of Bahadur only a telegram arrived. The telegram stated that the ship in which Raja Bhadur was travelling was bombed to smithereens by the Germans .

Reading the telegram, Murugesam Pillai fell unconscious. After regaining consciousness, he kept wailing uncontrollably. Nothing anyone said could comfort him. Anniyammal too cried.

Bharati tried his best to comfort the couple. He recited in a pathos-filled voice verses from Kamba Ramayanam describing Mandodari’s cries at the death of Indrajit, Dasaratha’s wails in the Kulasekara Azhwar verse ‘van tALin iNai vanangi’*, and Devaki’s lament in the song ‘Alai neeL karumbannavan tAlElO’** to comfort them.

Nothing anyone did helped improve Murugesam Pillai’s health. He remained bedridden even after Aurobindo arranged to send a telegram announcing Raja Bahadur’s well-being, or even after someone who physically resembled Raja Bhadur was paraded in front of him in an attempt to convince him that his son had returned. When he was shown the ‘duplicate’ Raja Bahadur, his expression was one of doubt and dissatisfaction, and he simply turned around in his bed. Within a short time, he passed away.

On the 27th day following his father’s death, Raja Bahadur returned hale and hearty. Bharati said that the father had given his life for the son’s safe return.

Raja Bahadur later became the secretary of the Puduchery Assembly and lived till 1951. He named his son Murugesa Bharati.

After Bharati had returned to Chennai, he wanted Kulla Chami the Yogi from Puduvai to come to Chennai. It was Kanaka Raja who made arrangements to send the Swamiji to Madras. (The letter sent by Bharati to Kanaka Raja can be found elsewhere in this book).

Kanaka Raja met an untimely death at a young age.

Notes:
*. வன் தாளின் இணை வணங்கி வளநகரம் தொழுது ஏத்த மன்னன் ஆவான்
நின்றாயை அரியணை மேல் இருந்தாயை நெடுங் கானம் படரப் போகு
என்றாள் எம் இராமாவோ உனைப் பயந்த கைகேசி தன் சொற் கேட்டு
நன்றாக நானிலத்தை ஆள்வித்தேன் நன்மகனே உன்னை நானே

Van tALin iNai vaNangi vaLanagaram tozhudu Etta mannan AvAn
ninRAyai ariyaNai mEl irundAyai neDungAnam paDarap pOgu
enRAL em irAmAvO unaip payanda kaikESi tan SoR kETTu
nanRAga nAnilattai ALvittEn nanmaganE unnai nAnE

Dasaratha’s lament (Roughly): ‘O Rama, you were about to be crowned a King such that the entire country came to worship your strong feet seeing you on the throne; alas, you have to go to the forest now; is this how I make you ruler of this world, my son, by heeding to Kaikeyi’s request?’

**. ஆலை நீள் கரும்பன்னவன் தாலோ, அம்புயத் தடங்கண்ணினன் தாலோ
வேலை நிறத்தன்னவன் தாலொ,வேழப் போதகம் அன்னவன் தாலோ
ஏலவார்குழல் என்மகன் தாலோ என்றூன்னை என் வாயிடை நிறையத்
தாலொலித்திடும் திருவினையில்லாத் தாயரிற் கடையாயின தாயே

Alai nIL karumbannavan tAlO, ambuyat taDankaNNinan tAlo,
vElai niRattannavan tAlO, vEzhap pOdagam annavan tAlO
ElavAr kuzhal en magan tAlo enRunnai en vAyiDai niRaiyat
tAlolittiDum tiruvinai illAt tAyariR kaDaiyAyina tAyE

Devaki, imprisoned by Kamsa, laments her misfortune that she can’t even have the joy of singing aloud a lullaby to her darling son Kannan, who had so many qualities that can be sung about: he was like sweet sugarcane, lotus eyed, ocean hued, elephant-calf like in appearance and had tresses with the fragrance of cardamom. Am I not the lowliest of all mothers, bewails she.

Govindaswamy · Post by **Govindaswamy** » 05 Nov 2012, 05:09

Murugesam Pillai's elder son's name is given as Raja Bahadur in English and rAjA bAdar (ராஜாபாதர்) in Tamizh in the photo

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 05 Nov 2012, 07:04

Those are very powerful touching verses!
Where is the second one from?
What is the meaning of ஆலை ?

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 05 Nov 2012, 10:30

CML, this verse (Alai nIL...) is also from Kulasekara Azhwar's Perumal Tirumozhi. Alai here refers to the mill/press where jaggery is made. My guess is that not all 'karumbu' is fit enough to be pressed for making sugar/jaggery, it has to be ripe (?) enough!

Shri Govindaswamy, 'Raja Badar' on that picture is a typo. The text portion of Chitra Bharati page consistently names him as Raja Bahadur (ராஜா பகதூர்)...here are some more references in Tamil:

Please see captions under pictures 49, 50 and 51 in this link: http://www.mahakavibharathiyar.info/photos4.htm

More references to Raja Bahadur in this biography of Bharathiyar by va. raa here: http://www.mahakavibharathiyar.info/varalaru_vara14.htm

One more page from Dinamalar's archives: http://www.dinamalar.com/Supplementary_ ... 088&ncat=2

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 05 Nov 2012, 11:10

Thx for the explanation. It ties in with 'sweetness' of the sugarcane...

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 05 Nov 2012, 20:00

Folks,
Quickly scanning and reserving 'the mulling over them' for later. At present, no time to spend time at Rasikas.org and other pleasant pastimes with life's demands

Sridhar,
Thanks for bringing this book to the non-thamizh readers.

The pictures in 'Chithra' Bharathi' are riveting. RA. Padmanabhan collected them with such devotion.

Remember that dramatic chapter in Yadugiri's book on Rajabahadur's return to Puduvai?

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 09 Nov 2012, 17:30

Arasi, I searched and read once again that poignant story in your most eloquent translation of Yadugiri's book Oy Bharathiyare. It is post #242 right in this thread.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 09 Nov 2012, 17:39

A few friends in Vedapuram

There is a high school known as Calve College in Puduchery. Prof N. Subramania Aiyar was an English Teacher there. He lived in Eswaran Dharmaraja Koil Street, as did Bharati and V.V.S. Aiyar. Bharati, in his series of articles set in Puduvai which he called as Vedapuram, refers to Subramania Aiyar as ‘Brahmarayar’ or ‘Brahmaraya Aiyar’. Says Bharati in his article entitled ‘Pen’ (woman):

“In Vedapuram’s Dharmaraja Street lives a Brahmin by name Brahmaraya Aiyar. He follows the Saakta religion. He is a scholar in both English and French languages and knows Samskrutam too. He is well versed in Vedantic concepts. He never misses any kathaa kaalakshepam or upanyaasam that takes place in town. More often than not, he returns dissatisfied after listening to the discourses. The aforementioned Brahmarayar also has a good knowledge of Tamil. He has translated in Tamil many of the European Shaastras. At times he even writes poetry.

“When he starts speaking (at his home), it can be heard three streets away. In the evenings he is usually found conversing i.e. roaring with friends on the pyol (‘tinnai’) of his house. The neighbours have named his pyol ‘iDip paLLikkUDam’ (The Thunder Classroom). As I am on friendly terms with this Professor, I too join in to listen to the conversations in iDi paLLikkUDam from time to time.”

Kalavai Sankaran Chettiyar was a wealthy man and a philanthropist. He gave a place to stay for Aurobindo in the upper portion of his house. He had great affection for the Swadeshi leaders.

In 1911-12 an attempt was made to expel Bharati, Aurobindo, Aiyar et al from Puduchery. A law was made to evict non-French citizens from Puduvai unless they had registered themselves with the police and carried with them the attestation of five honorary magistrates. When Sankaran Chettiyar came to know of this, he arranged to get signatures from five magistrates before 3 P.M. on the same day.

Another friend was Arumugam Chettiyar, an influential merchant. He was very polite and politically naive. He had a weak voice. He was raising a few white mice as pets in his home; Bharati refers to him as ‘elik kunju chettiyar’ (baby-mice chettiyar) in his Vedapuram articles.

Va. Raa. used many clever ways to route money from India to Chettiyar’s address, often without the latter’s knowledge.

Madasamy Pillai, a suspect in the Ashe murder case in Maniyachi who went underground and vanished without a trace, was said to have lived in the first floor of Arumugam Chettiyar’s house in Puduvai, unknown to anyone. When the police came to search his home, Chettiyar took them upstairs, showed them stacked up sacks of paddy and made them go back.

One day a small crowd was assembled in Bharati’s house. A ritual fire had been raised and surrounding it were people chanting Vedic hymns. Sitting around the fire were Va. Ve. Su. Aiyar, Mandayam Srinivasachari, Brahmaraya Aiyar, Kuvalai Kannan, Nagaswamy Iyer, a friend by name Govindarajulu Naidu, and many others. Bharati was seated on a plank (Palagai). Sitting on another plank was Kanaka Lingam. Bharati performed brahmopadesam to Kanakalingam, and made him wear a sacred thread (poonool). He advised Kanakalingam thus: “From today onwards you are a Brahmin. If anyone asks you who adorned you with a thread, say with all authority that it was done by Bharati.”

Since three sections of society wore the thread, there was a prevailing belief among many that equality can be brought about by making the two remaining sections wear it too. Bharati must have turned Kanakalingam a Brahmin with this same belief.

Kanakalingam has written a very good book on Bharati entitled “En Gurunathar Bharati” (My Guru Bharati). This was published in 1947.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 09 Nov 2012, 17:50

Clockwise from top left:

-- Prof Subramania Aiyar aka Brahmaraaya Aiyar, Friend of Bharati
-- Kalavai Sankara Chettiyar, one of Bharati's close friends
-- The Kalavai Bungalow used by Bharati and others
-- Raa. Kanakalingam, a Dalit disciple whose initiation as a Brahmin was conducted by Bharati

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 09 Nov 2012, 21:07

'brahmarAyar' - Wonder if Kalki Sri Krishnamurthy was inspired by this to name the minister in 'ponniyin selvan' as aniruddha brahmarAyar!

Sridhar - awesome tidbits..keep them coming.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 10 Nov 2012, 10:51

Ravi, I understand Brahmaraayar and Brahmaadiraayar were actual titles given to Brahmins in the Chola Period, and Anbil Aniruddha Brahmaraayar is not a fictional character!

That said, I have often wondered how much of Kalki's writing style is influenced by Bharati. I think the influence is very high. Some of the humour-laced writings of Bharatiyaar in his essays and short stories very much remind me of Kalki's prose (I had read Kalki much before I read Bharati

)

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 10 Nov 2012, 21:27

Unquestionably Kalki was a great fan of Bharathy. But his Tamil style was more chatty in relation to Bharathy's. I believe Bharathy never wrote any Novels?

I am fascinated by the kanakalingam iyer story? It was nothing new since Ramanuja had done it eight centuries earlier! I wonder why there were no follow up?

kvchellappa · Post by **kvchellappa** » 11 Nov 2012, 07:26

It is true. In fact, Kalki formed a style of his own, using more words of Tamizh and a conversational form. Bharathi's prose is often difficult to follow and contains many Samskritham words, not in common parlance, at least as of now.
Bharathi has written 'Chandrikaiyin Kathai', an unfinished novel. It is interesting as far as it goes. It will be in Bhaarathi blogspot.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 11 Nov 2012, 21:25

Sridhar, thanks for the clarification..what does 'anbil' mean?

kvchellappa · Post by **kvchellappa** » 12 Nov 2012, 07:26

Anbil is the name of a place in Tiruchi district. several copper plates were discovered there re. the Chola period. (Source: Ponniyin Selvan by Kalki)

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 12 Nov 2012, 23:53

Left: Arumugam Chettiyar
Top Right: The **'taraasu kaDai' bench in Arumugam Chettiyar's house. (1938).... Bharati and his friends used to meet there.
Bottom: (L to R) Bharati Dasan, Vijaya Bharati, Sakuntala Bharati, Raa. A. Padmanabhan (author of this book), Raa. Kanakalingam - seated in the 'taraasu kaDai' in this 1957 picture

** Unable to come up with an apt translation for this. (taraasu= balance/scale & kaDai=shop)

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 12 Nov 2012, 23:58

With ‘Untouchables’

Bharathy was a bold & extreme social reformer. One day in 1913, he performed the sacred thread ceremony of an “untouchable” young man Kanakalingam, accompanied by a ritual fire and initiation of Gayatri Mantra, in the presence of friends like V.V.S. Aiyar and Prof. Subramania Iyer. Said the Mahakavi to the youth: “From now on you are a Brahmin. You can boldly proclaim yourself a Brahmin if anyone questions you. Tell them with conviction that it is Bharati (who made you a Brahmin)”

Like Kanakalingam, Bharati also initiated into Brahminhood another Harijan youth C. Nagalinga Pandaram who was a priest in the Desamuthu Mari temple in a ‘chEri’ (quarters of the untouchables) called Uppalam.

Nagalingam used to meet Bharati every Sunday, and on one such occasion, Bharati sang to him one of his recent poems “tEDi unnai Saran aDaindEn dESa muttu maari’ (I sought & took your refuge, goddess Mari) which at first had a different starting line ‘tEDinum kiDaikkAL engaL dESa muttu mAri’ (She is hard to find, our goddess Mari).

Bharati was friends with many more Dalit youth. He became a friend of Adaikkalanathan Arlok, officer in charge of the Telescope at the Puduvai Port; he would watch the skies with joy through the telescope, accompanied by his and V.V.S. Aiyar’s family members.

In 1912, Bharati spoke on the topic ‘There is no such thing as caste’ at the annual day of a Cricket Club run by Adaikkalanathn, Kanakalingam, Vedachalam Saker (?), et al. The youth were fined by the court for not obtaining prior permission.

Pictures:- top: Adaikkalanathan Arlok (picture from a later period) & bottom: Raa. Kanakalingam and Vedachalam Saker in 1957

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 13 Nov 2012, 00:39

Bharathy himself was not wearing a pooNool. During his daughter's wedding the priest had to put on one for him.
Instead of making the Dalits into brahmins Bharathy should have declared himself to be a Dalit. Still I doubt whether the DKs would have espoused him as eagerly as they did Bharathy Dasan!
The caste barriers are unbreakable!

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 19 Nov 2012, 01:01

Was this poor family any less (in caring for Bharati)?

The aging maid servant in the Ponnu Murugesam Pillai household was almost like Avvai Patti (1) in her looks. Her name was Ammakkannu. While the Master and the Lady of the house were quite fond of Bharati, this unlettered deaf old woman had boundless affection for him. Likewise were her three sons.

Ammakkannu ministered to Bharati in Ponnu Murugesam Pillai’s house, totally unmindful of his prankish behaviour, including his random acts of spitting.

Once – perhaps it was in 1917 – Bharati had grown sick of his confined life in Puduvai. He had made up his mind to go back to British India, no matter what the consequences would be. Perhaps angry at his own wife, he had left home, without informing anyone.

News got around that Bharati had gone missing; people went in search of him. In the end, Bharatidasan chanced upon him in the railway station and brought him home after pacifying him. Back then in Puduvai there used to be ‘Push Cart’ Rickshaws that required pushing from behind. Bharati and Bharatidasan arrived by one such rickshaw. Getting to know this, Ammakkannu rushed to welcome them with a bagful of sundal(2) and other such simple treats. Bharati was pleased immensely.

Ammakkannu and her three sons are all dead. Venugopal Naicker, the eldest, had been given the nick name of ‘pulippaal vENu’ (tiger milk Venu) by Bharati. He used to run a magazine called ‘thai nadu’ (motherland) in later years. He was also an expert diamond assessor. Deiva Sigamani passed away just recently in his old age.

In our country, even if people with a higher social status had friends from the lower sections of society, it is very rare to see them partake of food or join in prayers or worship in their friends’ homes. Bharati was an exception. He freely mingled with people in their homes, be they Paarppaar(3) or Pallar (4). It needs no mention that in those times this was nothing short of revolutionary.

When this author visited Ammakkannu in her home in 1938-39, occupying pride of place in her pooja room were an idol of Dattatreya, two swords and a dagger. They revealed that these were worshipped by Bharati.

It seems Bharati used the swords for his fencing practice. While he had immense desire for physical exercises, he did not have the habit of practicing regularly. One day he decided to try fencing in moonlight on the sands of Puduvai’s beach. A friend – this could have been Ammakkannu’s son Venu – demonstrated to him how to hold and thrust the sword. Bharati took the sword in his hand, and whirled it a few times. Suddenly, like a man possessed, he swung the sword very fast and moved as if to attack the friend facing him. It was a herculean task to prise the sword out of his hand. No one dared teach him fencing thereafter, seeing how quickly Bharati tended to lose his sense of reality.

Bharati did not at all care about caste differences: besides Ammakkannu’s family, he had a varied bunch of friends such as Raa. Kanakalingam, a Harijan youth, the paNDaaram (Dalit priest) from the Uppalam Mariamman temple, koTTaDi vENu Naicker, et al. He would never bother about the caste or religion of any of his friends, moving freely with them, chatting and eating with them, and sleeping at their place. He spoke on the topic of ‘Caste Differences’ in the Progressive Union Cricket Club of Puduvai in 1912. Young Kanakalingam was slapped with a fine of three rupees for organizing this meeting without prior permission.

Bharati has dedicated his ‘dESa muttu maari’ song to the deity of the Uppalam Muthu Mariamman temple, which was revered by the Harijans.
Bharati was often heard repeating that three things were very essential: “Sending the Englishman back home”, “Uprooting the toxic weed called casteism” and “Liberating women”. He was valiant enough to carry these out in deed, in his time.

1. avvai or avvaiyaar – a legendary Tamil poet(ess), always depicted as a wizened old lady
2. sunDal – snack made of lentils, beans or peanuts boiled and spiced
3. paarppaar – another name for Brahmins
4. paLLar – Former name of a Dalit community (Devendra Kula Vellaalar)

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 19 Nov 2012, 01:08

Counter-clockwise, from top-right:

-- Ammakkannu
-- The swords, dagger and idol of Dattatreya worshipped by Bharati in Ammakkannu's home; standing nearby is Venu, Ammakkannu's eldest son
-- Govindasamy, the second son
-- Deivasigamani, youngest of her sons who passed away 'recently'

Ponbhairavi · Post by **Ponbhairavi** » 19 Nov 2012, 13:06

CML post no 601
I agree with you.
But why should we expect a recognition by DK or anyone else.A lion does not care if a rat does not recognize it.They try to prop up the dasan to such a size thatthey hope to conceal the giant behind. But unfortunately for them Suppurathinam himself has found glory in calling himself his Dasan. ( It will be worth finding out what ( if any) the MASTER has said or written about his dsiciple..The communists reconcile with him because he said thani oruvanukku unavillai yenil jegathinai azhithivom. But neither the DK nor the communists are anywhere near Bharathi in practising what they preach.
Bharathy did not wear punool or gave punool to anyone because he considered punool nothing but a symbol and did not attribute any importance to it not by aversion to any vedic tenet nor GOD.His thought was fully preoccupied with the plight of the nation and the inertness of the society which is wasting its energy on secondary things..One should raise to his level of political and humanitarian thinking to understand his action. It is neither an antibrahmin nor a pro dalit act.
Y es the caste barriers are unbreakable and indian govt , the politicians and the society aredoing their utmost to make it more and more strong for selfish reasons

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 02 Dec 2012, 14:42

Thiagaraja Pillai Madu - the pool in which Bharati and Kuvalai Kannan took morning baths. Bharati wrote his "Bharata Mata Thiruppalliyezhucchi" inspired by the sights and sounds he encountered while walking to this pool in the early mornings.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 02 Dec 2012, 14:48

Thiruppalliyezhuchchi Maḍu (The “awakening pool”)

Kuvalai Kannan came to Bharati with a proposal: “There is a nice pond around here called Thiagaraja Pillai Maḍu. It is good for taking a dip, but a little far away. Would you like to come with me every morning to bathe in the pool?”

Bharati agreed eagerly.

“It is situated some two miles to the west of the town. We can have a peaceful bath if we start early at 4 A.M.”, said Kuvalai. “I’ll be happy to join you at whatever time you wake me up”, said Bharati.

The next day, Kuvalai knocked on Bharati’s door at four in the morning as agreed. Bharati stepped out with an authoritative voice that responded with “who’s there?” The two of them started walking towards the pool. Bharati grew ecstatic by the sights of the lush green fields on either side of the road and the coconut groves, as well as the gentle early morning breeze and the bird calls. He took a bath in the pond and returned pleased.

This was repeated for a second day. On the third day, Bharati did not even wait for Kuvalai to arrive. He went himself in search of Kuvalai and knocked on his door. Kuvalai’s mother opened the door and took him inside.

As soon as Kuvalai introduced the newcomer to his mother as ‘Bharati’, the lady responded: “Oh this is the person you have been talking about, a good singer...let me see, can you ask him to sing Suprabhatam?”

“What is Suprabhatam?” asked Bharati.

The old lady could not contain her smirk. “He doesn’t even know what Suprabhatam is! So much for your Bharati!!”

The Samskritam word Suprabhatam means “hymn of awakening” or “tiruppaLLiyezhucci” in Tamil. On their way to the pond, Bharati learnt from Kuvalai what exactly Suprabhatam was. Within a few days, he composed a song “Bharata Mata Thiruppalliyezhucchi” and sang it to Kuvalai’s mother.

“Kaalaip pozhudu”, one of Bharati’s poems (‘tanip paaDal’) describes vividly the early morning scenes Bharati encountered en route to the pond.
On the stepped embankment of the Thiagaraja Pillai Madu, surrounded by thick trees, was a bungalow where Bharati once treated his friends to a feast.

Having become a daily visitor to the pond, Bharati had a question for Kuvalai Kannan on one of the days: “Kannaa, what is the count of Azhwaars?”
“They were twelve in all”, replied Kuvalai Kannan.

“How many songs have they sung?”

“A total of four thousand. In fact, the count is slightly less than four thousand.”

“Is that all? Look, I alone will compose six thousand verses. If the Azhwaars gave ‘naalaayira divya prabandham’ (collection of 4000 divine hymns), I will, all by myself, come up with Bhaarati aaRaayiram (Bharati 6000)”, said Bharati.

He took a vow of silence for the next 40 days and started writing many poems. The collection of poems started with an invocation to the divine, a verse that went ‘enakku munnE siddhar palar irundaarappaa. Yaanum vandEn oru siddhan inda naaTTinilE’ (there have been many siddhas - mystics with miraculous powers - before me. I too am one such siddha). There was a chapter (kaanDam) with a prayer to paraaSakti. The way to overcome death, ills of anger, virtues of patience, where is god, praise of the guru, Kuvalai Kannan’s nobleness, vision of the guru, women’s liberation, the virtues of love, equality of religions, etc., are among the other topics Bharati has written about in this collection.

Unfortunately, the series ended rather abruptly with 66 songs, instead of growing to the intended 6000. When Bharati Prasuraalayam published it, they named the collection as “Bharati Sixty-six.”

Even though it contains only sixty six verses, the squeezed essence of Bharati’s experiential knowledge can be found in this collection.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 02 Dec 2012, 20:12

Like the famous story of Avvayaar and the 'poRkizhi' each of the 66 verses of Bharathy is worth a crore (ஒவ்வொன்றும் ஒரு கோடி பெறும்).

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 03 Dec 2012, 17:05

True CML.

Subramania Aiyar, the proprietor of Swadeshamitran, is said to have told Bharati that his writing deserved one lakh per letter ('akshara laksham' peRum). But he was clever to extract work from Bharati using sweet talk alone, as recounted in this interesting article in Tamil.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 03 Dec 2012, 23:30

Many thanks for that Ref!

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 11 Dec 2012, 08:16

I am taking a 'season break' and will continue the translation of Chitra Bharati in January.

Meanwhile here is an interesting article from The Hindu about Bharati and Nevinson, the British Journalist who wrote about a public meeting on the beaches of Chennai addressed by Bharati. We read about Nevinson earlier in one of the Chitra Bharati pages.

Today (Dec 11) is Bharatiyar's birth anniversary.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 11 Dec 2012, 12:02

There is a lovely family picture in today's Hindu --- will add the link if I find it, if nobody beats me to it.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 11 Dec 2012, 20:20

sridhar_ranga wrote:Today (Dec 11) is Bharatiyar's birth anniversary.

Thank you for the reminder - a great day for mankind...
And can't help wondereing how important dates for noble souls get bunched together - today (December 11) is also Smt. MSS rememberance day...

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 12 Dec 2012, 22:14

Have a well-deserved break sridhar_ranga and come back with renewed vigour. Happy New Year in advance!

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 18 Jan 2013, 00:06

Kuyil pATTu tOppu (The Cuckoo-Song Orchard)

‘Vellachu’ Krishnaswamy Chettiar owned a beautiful orchard in Muthialpet, near Puduvai. Bharati loved to roam its spaces for hours. This orchard is the setting for Bharati’s Kuyil Pattu (song of the Cuckoo). It has achieved immortality and will be remembered as long as Tamil language exists.

It is human nature to grow weary from constantly gazing at the same set of faces. More so in case of poets. Bharati, who always sought new experiences, hardly spent time at home when he was in Puduvai. Even chatting with friends got him bored pretty quickly. During times when he was possessed by the creative frenzy of a poet, he simply couldn’t stay in one place.

Bharati would forget all his sorrows by the sight of a green orchard, the sound of a bird call, the swift flight of a sparrows soaring into the sky, the roar of the sea which ‘clapped its white-surf hands’, the splendour of mellow sunlight or the dazzling colours of sunset. Content by the experience, he would sing ‘ettanai kOTi inbam vaittAi, engaL iRaivA! iRaivA!!’ (Our Lord – you gave (us) millions (of things) to rejoice)**

One could see him go through birth pangs when he was about to create a poem. He could be seen humming notes: Sa-Ri-Ga-Gaa-Maa. Those around would understand that he was trying to form a tune for a new song. He did not like anyone to watch his agony or make fun of his repeated trials. He would ask a close friend to accompany him to Krishnasamy Chettiar’s orchard or another garden in villiyanur.

He would lose himself in the natural beauty: staring at a tree or intensely looking at a pond. Looking skyward, chest thrust forward, tapping a foot to rhythm, he would sing aloud the notes of the new song. If the song came alright, fine! Else, the ground below will be the recipient of a forceful kick! Some silence would ensue. A cry of “Sol aazhi veN sangE” (Speak, the white conch from the seas –a line from ANDAL’s poem ‘karpooram nARumO’) or a loud chant of Thayumanavar’s kaNNI, “mattagajam ena vaLarttAi” (brought up like an elephant in rut). A round of swaras would be sung again. In the end, success & great joy: the song would be born. Kavitaa dEvi would shower nectarine rain, squeezing every ounce of life out of Bharati’s weak frame.

The Muthialpet grove, described at the beginning of Kuyil Paattu as “a mango grove some distance to the west of the southern Tamil town of Puduvai”, was always a happy refuge for Bharati.

On the eighth day of kaartikai in the year NaLa (22-11-1916), Puduchery was struck by a severe cyclone. Bharati has described the scene of destruction in the song “dikkugaL eTTum sidaRi”. The details of the providential escape by Bharati and his family on that day are described in the song “kARRaDikkudu kaDal kumuRudu”, presented as a dialogue between a man and his wife.

The cyclone completely felled and destroyed all the gardens and orchards in Puduvai, save for Krishnasamy Chettiar’s coconut grove, which stood undamaged.

Kuyil Pattu is drenched in the shades of the mango orchard. As one looked outside from within its cool confines, which did not let in any heat even when the sun was at its oppressive worst, one could glimpse a green expanse of fields as far as the eye could see. Amidst the lush fields stood a lone coconut grove. While all the trees in the surrounding area were uprooted, the miraculous escape by this solitary coconut grove which defied the cyclone moved Bharati to write a song “pizhaitta tennantOppu” (the coconut grove which survived):

‘SiRiya tiTTaiyinilE – uLadOr tennanchiRu tOppu
vaRiyavan uDaimai – adanai vAyu poDikkavillai”

(On a tiny raised patch of land, is a small coconut grove.
A poor man’s possession; the wind did not pound it.)

** you can find here the text and RShankar’s translation of this Bharati song.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 18 Jan 2013, 00:09

Top: The Cuckoo-Song Orchard: the shady mango grove in Muthialpet near Puduchery where Bharati spent many a day-time. This is described in the Kuyil Paattu. Beyond the orchard is the coconut grove that survived the cyclone.

Bottom: Looking out from the orchard: the beautiful expanse of lush fields that enchanted Bharati

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 18 Jan 2013, 00:31

Welcome back!
Trust you had a nice break and are rejuvinated...
Nice to start off with the kuyil pATTu..

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 18 Jan 2013, 03:13

Sridhar - welcome back! Nice of you to resume the translations!

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 23 Jan 2013, 00:57

Pondicherry’s Beach

Puduvai’s beach is not as expansive as the one in Chennai. The small beach had its own charm, nevertheless. Puduvai had one special feature, which Chennai didn’t have. Puduvai used to have an iron pier which extended into the sea for one quarter of a mile. Puduvai did not have a port in those days where ships could drop anchor. Passengers and cargo would be offloaded from ships a few miles away from the shore and brought to the pier in boats. This iron sea-bridge disappeared in due course due to rusting, sea erosion and cyclones. A few remnants of the pier can be seen these days opposite the Gandhi statue.

When it was intact, the iron pier served a useful purpose as a place where people could go for an evening stroll and chat sitting on the benches there. Bharati and his friends used to go for a stroll on the pier. Puduvai city presented a beautiful view when seen from mid-sea on the pier.

Bharati and his friends also used to spend time on the sands near the pier. In his essays ‘Mazhai’ (rain) and ‘Varnaasrama sabha on the sea-bridge’, Bharatiyar has described such scenes.

Bharati loved bathing in the sea too. On Sundays, Bharati, V.V.S, Aiyar, Srinivasachariyar and their children took a morning dip in the sea. Bharati did not know swimming while Aiyar was a strong swimmer.

One day Bharati was making his children take a bath in the sea. The children, scared by the waves, ran towards the shore. Bharati ran after them and brought them back to the water. This went on for a while, and suddenly Bharati saw a big crowd in front of them and a policeman making his way forward, shouting at the crowd. The policeman started rebuking Bharati. What happened was that someone in the crowd, seeing a bearded man chase the kids, had imagined that Bharati was trying to drown the kids! He alerted a policeman who was nearby and had brought him there.

After finding out the truth, the policeman apologized and went away.

Unlike others who enjoyed the pleasures of the beach in the mornings or evenings, Bharati had no such time restrictions. He would go there at mid-day or even mid-night. Many times, unable to sleep or overcome by a creative trance, he would go to the beach and stay there all night. The beach also served as a place where he could lose himself in poetic ecstasy without causing disturbance to others, at times aided by intoxicant substances which helped remove the pains of poverty.

Yadugiri Ammal, the eldest daughter of Mandayam Srinivasachariar, has described one such incident in her book ‘Memories of Bharati’. One early morning, a young Yadugiri along with her father and younger sister was walking along the seashore when they heard the sound of singing from a distance. Set to a morning raga, the singing was at once sweet and heart-wrenching. Upon some concentration, it became evident that the song was from tiruvaimozhi. “The three of us walked in the direction of the sound of that song. There we saw Bharati sitting on a catamaran, clad in a black shirt and a Veshti tucked into a kachcham. His hands were folded in prayer. He was singing to the fresh Sun, just rising in the sea.”

Having gone there at night, Bharatiyar had stayed on the beach all night. When asked to explain, he simply said “I had a flight of creative imagination”. Imagine the worry any such man would have caused to his wife and family members, not being home for the night, gifted poet or not!

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 23 Jan 2013, 00:59

Top: View of Puduchery from the sea-bridge (iron pier) in 1956
Bottom Left: Uppalam Desa Muthu Mari Temple, sung by Bharati
Bottom Right: Manakkula Vinayakar Temple; Bharati composed his ‘Vinayakar Nanmani Malai’ on the famous Ganesha deity of this temple

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 23 Jan 2013, 01:27

Rare pictures indeed.
The beach of course contributed a lot in stimulating Bharathi's creative spirits..

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 23 Jan 2013, 21:16

All those times I was able to go to the manakuLa vinAyakar temple, I did not know that the mahAkavi had composed on this temple! My loss..

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 03 Feb 2013, 16:57

Year of Toil

Within two years of his stay in Puduchery, Bharati’s journalistic ventures came to an end. Thereafter he did not attempt to start any newspaper or magazine till the end of his stay in Puduvai.

After 1910, Bharati put an end to his affairs with journals and began focusing on writing material that could be published as books. 1912 was a very important year in his life. In that single year, he completed authoring several famous works.

It was in 1912 that four major works took shape: “Bhagavad Gita - Tamil Translation”, “Kannan Paattu” (Kannan Songs), “Kuyil Paattu” (The Cuckoo Song) and “Paanchaali Sapatham” (Panchali’s vow).

Kannan Paattu, written in 1912, got published only in 1917. Parali Su. Nellaiyappar who was based in Chintadripet, Chennai, published it. The first volume of Paanchaali Sapatham alone came out as a book in Puduvai in 1912. Its second part was published only in 1924, after Bharati’s death. Kuyil Paattu was published in 1923; there are no indications of it being printed earlier.

In his foreword to the first edition of Kannan Paattu, Parali Su. Nellaiyappa Pillai wrote with great conviction: “Sriman Bharatiyar is a great genius; a great scholar. A poet with divine inspiration and a self-realized soul (jIvanmukta). He is the Rabindranath (Tagore) of Tamil Nadu. He is a blessing to this country.....I can envision the sight of Tamil Nadu’s men and women reading his poems with utmost delight much after his time, even many centuries from now”

Va. Ve. Su. Aiyar, in his foreword for the second edition of Kannan Paattu in 1920, writes: “As early as ten years ago, in Janma Bhumi which Bharati published, we find a couple of his poems entitled ‘Sri Krishna Stotram’. But it was later that he became fully enchanted with Kannan’s playful acts and divine sport. One reason for this attraction to Lord Krishna was Bharati’s practice of singing Periyazhwar’s hymns to his heart’s content.”

Va. Ve. Su. Aiyar reminds the readers not just to enjoy the lyrical beauty of Kannan Paattu, but also not to forget the musical excellence (paN azhagu) of the work: “A majority of the songs in this collection are meant to be sung to a rhythmic tune. Whoever has heard the author sing his newly composed keertanams in his majestic voice full of creative enthusiasm, on peaceful evenings by the beach, or by the moonlight which imparted a milky hue to the blue ocean, will treat every song in this book as a true gem.

“Because our countrymen don’t patronize our author’s books, his zeal has unfortunately diminished; he who wrote such priceless lines as these:

-- SuRRi nillAdE pO, pagaiyE! tuLLI varugudu vEl (stay away, adversity! a-leaping comes the lance {of Lord Muruga} )
-- and
-- Kai tanil villum uNDu, gANDIvam adan pEr (the hand holds a bow, its name is gANDIva).

I sincerely hope all lovers of Tamil will encourage the author by buying this publication and make him grow in enthusiasm, enabling him to create many new works of literature in Tamil”

The above was an appeal made in 1920. But even this foreword came to be printed only two years after Bharati’s death.

Bharati’s write-up on Paanchaali Sapatham’s dedication was noteworthy: “I submit this book at the feet of gifted Tamil poets of the future who will create classics that shine eternally and their would-be patrons who will offer them due support”

Another objective worth emulation by present day writers is mentioned in the foreword by Bharati: “Anyone who creates literary works using simple words, a simple style of writing, a metre that is easy to follow, set to a tune that appeals to the general public, would be infusing fresh life into our language”.

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 03 Feb 2013, 16:58

A page from Bharati’s translation of the Bhagawad Gita. Four important works were created in 1912 including the Bhagawad Gita translation. The others are ‘Paanchaali Sapatham’, ‘Kuyil Paattu’ and ‘Kannan Paattu’.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 03 Feb 2013, 21:16

Sridhar - again, thank you! The man probably never slept!
Do you know the compositions/poems that were listed under kaNNan pATTu and kuil pATTu collections?

sridhar_ranga · Post by **sridhar_ranga** » 03 Feb 2013, 23:19

Here is the list, Ravi:

Kannan pATTu

1. KaNNan en tOzhan (Punnagavarali, tisra Ekam, ‘vatsala’ rasam - these are as specified by the poet) starts with “ponnavir mEni subattirai mAdaip puRangonDu pOvadaRkE”
2. kaNNan en tAi (noNDi chindu) – “uNNa uNNat teviTTAdE ammai uyirenum)
3. kaNNan en tandai (noNDi chindu – main rasam: adbhutam) – “bhUmikkennai anuppinAn”
4. kaNNan en sEvakan (no raga specification) – “kUli migak kETpAr” - the most famous lines in this song: “engirundO vandAn iDaic chAdi enRu SonnAn, ingivanai yAn peRavE enna tavam Seidu viTTEn”)
5. kaNNan en arasan – () – “pagaimai muRRi mudirndiDu maTTilum”
6. kaNNan en SIDan – (AsiriyappA) – “yAnEyAgi ennalAR piRavAi”
7. kaNNan – enadu saRguru – (punnAgavarALi, tisra Ekam, rasa: adbhuta, bhakti) – “sAttirangaL pala tEDinEn”
8. kannammA en kuzhandai – (Bhairavi, rUpakam) – “chinnanjiRu kiLiyE kaNNammA Selvak kaLanjiyamE”
9. kaNNan en viLaiyATTup piLLai – (kEdAram, khanDa Ekam, rasa: adbhutam, SRngAram) – “tIrAda viLaiyATTup piLLai kaNNan teruvilE peNgaLukkOyAda tollai”
10. kaNNan en kAdalan – (SenjuruTTi, tisra Ekam, rasa: SRngAram) – “tUNDiR puzhuvinaip pOl” includes the famous lines “pAlum kaSandadaDI sakiyE paDukkai nondadaDI”
11. kaNNan en kAdalan -2 – uRakkamum vizhippum – (nAdanAmakriya, Adi) – “nEram migundadinnum nittiraiyinRi”
12. kaNNan en kAdalan – 3 – kATTilE tEDudal – (HindustAni tODi, Adi, rasa: bhayAnakam, adbhutam) – “dikku teriyADA KATTIL UNNAIT TEDI TEDI ILAITTENE”
13. KANNan en kAdalan -4 – pAngiyai tUdu viDudal – (tangappATTu meTTu, rasam: SRngAram, rowdram) – “kaNNan mana nilaiyai tangamE tangam kaNDu vara vENumaDi tangamE tangam”
14. kaNNan en kAdalan – 5 – pirivARRAmai – (Bilahari) – “ASai mugam maRandu pOchE idai AriDam SolvEnaDi tOzhi”
15. kaNNan en kAntan – (varALi, tisra Ekam, SRngAra rasam) – “kanigaL kONDu tarum – kaNNan kaRkaNDu pOlinidAi”
16. kaNNammA en kAdali – 1 – kATchi viyappu – (SenjuruTTi, Ekam, rasa: SRngAram, adbhutam) – “SuTTum vizhic chuDartAn kaNNammA sUriya chandirarO”
17. kaNNammA en kAdali – 2 – pin ninRu kaN maRaittal – (nAdanAmakriyAm Adi, SRngAram) – “mAlaippozhudiloru mEDai miSaiyE vAnaiyum kaDalaiyum nOkkiyirundEn”
18. kaNNammA en kAdali – 3 – mugattirai kaLaittal – (nAdanAmakriya, Adi, SRngAram) – “dillit turukkar Seida vazhakkamaDi! – peNgaL tiraiyiTTu mugamalar maRaittu vaittal”
19. kaNNammA en kAdali – 4 – nANik kaN pudaittal – (nAdanAmakriyA, Adi, SRngAram) – “mannar kulattiniDaip piRandavaLai – ivaL maruva nigazhndadenRu nANam uRRadO?”
20. kaNNammA en kAdali – 5 – kuRippiDam tavaRiyadu – (SenjuruTTi, Adi, SRngAram) – “tIrttak karaiyinilE – teRku mUlaiyil Senbagat tOTTattilE”
21. kaNNammA en kAdali -6 – yOgam – “pAyum oLi nI yenakku – pArkkum vizhi nAnunakku”
22. kaNNan en ANDAn – (punnAgavarALi, tisra Ekam, rasa: adbhutam, karuNai) – “tanjam ulaginil enganum inRit tavittut taDumARi”
23. kaNNammA enadu kula deivam – (punnAga varALi ) pallavi: “ninaic charaNaDaindEn! kaNNammA ninnaic charaNaDaindEn” + 5 charanams

Kuyil pATTu

1. kuyil – “kALaiyiLam paridi vISum kadirgaLilE”
2. kuyilin pATTu – (SankarAbharanam, Eka tALam) – “kAdal kAdal kAdal, kAdal pOyiR kAdal pOyiR chAdal, SAdal, SAdal)
3. kuyilin kAdaR kadai – “mOhanap pATTu muDivuRap pArengum”
4. kAdalO kAdal – “kaNDadoru kATchi kanavu nanavenRu aRiyEn”
5. kuyilum kurangum – “maRRai nAT kaNDa marattE kuyilillai”
6. iruLum oLiyum - “vAna naDuvilE mATchiyuRa njAyirutAn”
7. kuyilum mADum – “”kAlait tuyilezhundu, kAliraNDu munpOlE”
8. nAngAM nAL – “nAngAm nAL ennai nayavanjanai purindu”
9. kuyil tanadu pUrva janmak kadi uraittal – “dEvanE! Ennarumaic chelvamE ennuyirE”

A PDF file with the full set of these two songs (in Tamil script) can be downloaded from here