C. Subramania Bharathi Birth name: C. Subramaniyan, the person's given name: Subramaniyan, father's given name: Chinnaswami. (C. Subramaniyan by the prevalent patronymic initials as prefix naming system in Tamil Nadu and it is Subramaniyan Chinnaswami by the

patronymic suffix A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, al ...

naming system.) Bharathi is a conferred title meaning blessed by the goddess of learning. His name became C. Subramania Bharathi and he is also widely known mononymously as Bharathi. (In this article, the subject is referred using his title Bharathi because subject is not known without his title. (Permitted in WP per Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Indic)#Titles and honorifics)) (IPA: ; born C. Subramaniyan 11 December 1882 – 11 September 1921) was a Tamil writer, poet, journalist,

Indian independence activist The Indian independence movement consisted of efforts by individuals and organizations from a wide spectrum of society to obtain political independence from the British, French and Portuguese rule through the use of a many methods. This is a l ...

, social reformer and

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingualism, monolingual speakers in the World population, world's pop ...

. He was bestowed the title "Bharathi" for his excellence in poetry. He was a pioneer of modern Tamil poetry and is considered one of the greatest Tamil literary figures of all time. He is popularly known by his mononymous title "Bharathi/ Bharathiyaar," and also by the other title "Mahakavi Bharathi" ("the great poet Bharathi"). His numerous works included fiery songs kindling patriotism during the

Indian Independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

. He fought for the

emancipation of women Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

, against

child marriage Child marriage is a marriage or similar union, formal or informal, between a child under a certain age – typically 18 years – and an adult or another child. * * * * The vast majority of child marriages are between a female child and a ma ...

, vehemently opposed the

caste system Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

, and stood for reforming society and religion. He was also in solidarity with

Dalits Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

and

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

. Born in

Ettayapuram Ettayapuram is a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the birthplace of Tamil poets Mahakavi Bharathiar and Umaru Pulavar. Muthuswami Dikshitar, one of the triads of Carnatic music, was patronized in his final years ...

of Tirunelveli district (present-day

Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and he ...

) in 1882, Bharathi had his early education in

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...

and

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

and worked as a journalist with many newspapers, including

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

, Bala Bharata, Vijaya, Chakravarthini, the ''Swadesamitran'' and ''India''. In 1908, an arrest warrant was issued against Bharathi by the government of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

caused him to move to Pondicherry where he lived until 1918. His influence on Tamil literature is phenomenal, although it is said that he was proficient in around 32, including 3 non-Indian foreign languages. His favorite language was Tamil. He was prolific in his output. He covered political, social and spiritual themes. The songs and poems composed by Bharathi are very often used in

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

and have become staples in the literary and musical repertoire of Tamil artistes throughout the world. He paved the way for modern

blank verse Blank verse is poetry written with regular metrical but unrhymed lines, almost always in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th century", and P ...

. He wrote many books and poems on how Tamil is beautiful in nature.

Biography

Subramanya Bharathi with his wife Chellamma

C. Subramaniyan (

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

: ) was born in a

brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

family on 11 December 1882 in the village of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

to Chinnaswami Subramania

Iyer Iyers (also spelt as Ayyar, Aiyar, Ayer, or Aiyer) are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Brahmin, Hindu Brahmins. Most Iyers are followers of the ''Advaita Vedanta, Advaita'' philosophy propounded by Adi Shankara and adhere to the ...

and Lakshmi Ammal. From a very young age, Subramaniyan was musically and poetically inclined. He lost his mother at the age of five and was brought up by his father who wanted him to learn English, excel in arithmetic, and become an engineer. At around the young age of 11, he was conferred the title of "Bharathi", meaning blessed by the goddess of learning

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a go ...

, by the Raja of Ettayapuram on seeing his excellence in poetry. Henceforth he was known as C. Subramania Bharathi (

: ). At the age of 15 he was married to Chellamma who was seven years old. Chellama was from

Kadayam Kadayam is a Town city in the district of Tirunelveli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. near

Tenkasi Tenkasi is a town and headquarters of the Tenkasi district in Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural places in South Tamilnadu,Tenkasi houses The Kutraleeshwarar temple (Chitra Sabha), one of the ...

. He lost his father at the age of sixteen. He went to the M.D.T. Hindu College in

. Bharathi was a proficient linguist, he was well-versed in Tamil, Sanskrit, Hindi, Telugu, English, French and had a smattering knowledge of Arabic. During his stay in

, Bharathi was exposed to Hindu spirituality and nationalism. This broadened his outlook and he learned Sanskrit, Hindi and English. In addition, he changed his outward appearance. He also grew a beard and wore a turban due to his admiration of Sikhs, influenced by his Sikh friend. Though he passed an entrance exam for a job, he returned to Ettayapuram during 1901 and started as the court poet of Raja of Ettayapuram for a couple of years. He was a Tamil teacher from August to November 1904 in Sethupathy High School in Madurai. During this period, Bharathi understood the need to be well-informed of the world outside and took interest in the world of journalism and the print media of the West. Bharathi joined as Assistant Editor of the ''

Swadesamitran ''Swadesamitran'' was a Tamil language newspaper that was published from the then Madras city from 1882 to 1985. One of the earliest Tamil newspapers and the longest in print, ''Swadesamitran'' was founded by Indian nationalist G. Subramania Iyer ...

'', a Tamil daily in 1904. In December 1905, he attended the All India Congress session held in Benaras. On his journey back home, he met

Sister Nivedita Sister Nivedita ( born Margaret Elizabeth Noble; 28 October 1867 – 13 October 1911) was an Irish teacher, author, social activist, school founder and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She spent her childhood and early youth in Ireland. She was ...

, Swami

Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intr ...

's spiritual heir. She inspired Bharathi to recognise the privileges of women and the emancipation of women exercised Bharathi's mind. He visualised the new woman as an emanation of Shakti, a willing helpmate of man to build a new earth through co-operative endeavour. Among other greats such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, he considered Nivedita his

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

, and penned verses in her praise. He attended the Indian National Congress session in Calcutta under Dadabhai Naoiroji, which demanded

Swaraj Swarāj ( sa, स्वराज, translit=Svarāja '' sva-'' "self", '' raj'' "rule") can mean generally self-governance or "self-rule". It was first used by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to attain self rule from the Mughal Empire and the Adil ...

and boycott of British goods. By April 1907, he started editing the Tamil weekly ''India'' and the English newspaper ''Bala Bharatham'' with M.P.T. Acharya. These newspapers were also a means of expressing Bharathi's creativity, which began to peak during this period. Bharathi started to publish his poems regularly in these editions. From hymns to nationalistic writings, from contemplations on the relationship between God and Man to songs on the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and French revolutions, Bharathi's subjects were diverse. Bharathi participated in the historic Surat Congress in 1907 along with V.O. Chidambaram Pillai and Mandayam Srinivachariar, which deepened the divisions within the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

with a section preferring armed resistance, primarily led by

Tilak In Dharmic culture, the ''tilaka'' ( sa, तिलक) () is a mark worn usually on the forehead, at the point of the Ajna chakra, or sometimes another part of the body such as the neck, hand, chest or arm. ''Tilaka'' may be worn daily or for ...

over moderate approach preferred by certain other sections. Bharathi supported Tilak with

V. O. Chidambaram Pillai ''V.'' is the debut novel of Thomas Pynchon, published in 1963. It describes the exploits of a discharged U.S. Navy sailor named Benny Profane, his reconnection in New York with a group of pseudo-bohemian artists and hangers-on known as the Who ...

and Kanchi Varathachariyar. Tilak openly supported armed resistance against the British. 1909magazine vijaya

In 1908, the British instituted a case against V.O. Chidambaram Pillai. In the same year, the proprietor of the journal ''India'' was arrested in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. Faced with the prospect of arrest, Bharathi escaped to

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

, which was under French rule. From there he edited and published the weekly journal ''India'', ''Vijaya'', a Tamil daily, ''Bala Bharatham'', an English monthly, and ''Suryodayam'', a local weekly in Pondicherry. The British tried to suppress Bharathi's output by stopping remittances and letters to the papers. Both ''India'' and ''Vijaya'' were banned in India in 1909. Bharathiyar with his Family and Friends

During his exile, Bharathi had the opportunity to meet many other leaders of the revolutionary wing of the Independence movement like Aurobindo,

Lajpat Rai Lala Lajpat Rai (28 January 1865 - 17 November 1928) was an Indian author, freedom fighter, and politician. He played a vital role in the Indian Independence movement. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari. He was one of the three members of ...

and V.V.S. Aiyar, who had also sought asylum under the French. Bharathi assisted Aurobindo in the ''

Arya Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...

'' journal and later ''Karma Yogi'' in Pondicherry. This was also the period when he started learning Vedic literature. Three of his greatest works namely, ''Kuyil Pattu'', ''Panchali Sapatham'' and ''Kannan Pattu'' were composed during 1912. He also translated Vedic hymns, Patanjali's ''Yoga Sutra'' and ''

Bhagavat Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...

'' to Tamil. Bharathi entered India near

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is the city and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important port during the British Raj. While the early history of Cudda ...

in November 1918 and was promptly arrested. He was imprisoned in the Central prison in Cuddalore in custody for three weeks from 20 November to 14 December and was released after the intervention of

Annie Besant Annie Besant ( Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights activist, educationist, writer, orator, political party member and philanthropist. Regarded as a champion of human f ...

and C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyar. He was stricken by poverty during this period, resulting in his ill health. The following year, 1919, Bharathi met

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure ...

. He resumed editing ''Swadesimeitran'' from 1920 in

(modern-day

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Death

He was badly affected by the imprisonments and by 1920 when a General Amnesty Order finally removed restrictions on his movements, Bharathi was already struggling. He was struck by an elephant named Lavanya at

Parthasarathy temple The Parthasarathy Temple is a 6th-century Hindu Vaishnavite temple dedicated to Vishnu in Chennai, India. Located in the neighbourhood of Thiruvallikeni, the temple is glorified in the ''Naalayira Divya Prabandham'', the early medieval Tamil ...

Triplicane Triplicane, known in the vernacular as Thiruvallikeni, is one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Chennai, India. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal coast and about from Fort St George. The average elevation of the neighbourhood is 14 metres ...

, whom he used to feed every day. When he fed a coconut to Lavanya (the elephant), the elephant got fired up and attacked Bharathi. Although he survived the incident, his health deteriorated a few months later and he died early morning on 11 September 1921 at around 1 am. Though Bharathi was considered a people's poet, a great nationalist, outstanding freedom fighter and social visionary, it was recorded that there were only 14 people to attend his funeral. He delivered his last speech at Karungalpalayam Library in Erode, which was about the topic ''Man is Immortal''. The last years of his life were spent in a house in Triplicane, Chennai. The house was bought and renovated by the

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...

in 1993 and named Bharathi Illam (Home of Bharathi).

Works

Bharathi is considered one of the pioneers of modern Tamil literature. Bharathi used simple words and rhythms, unlike his previous century works in Tamil, which had complex vocabulary. He also employed novel ideas and techniques in his devotional poems. He used a metre called ''Nondi Chindu'' in most of his works, which was earlier used by Gopalakrisnha Bharathiar. Bharathi's poetry expressed a progressive, reformist ideal. His imagery and the vigour of his verse were a forerunner to modern Tamil poetry in different aspects. He was the forerunner of a forceful kind of poetry that combined classical and contemporary elements. He had a prodigious output penning thousands of verses on diverse topics like Indian Nationalism, love songs, children's songs, songs of nature, glory of the

Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...

, and odes to prominent freedom fighters of India like

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

and

. He even penned an ode to New Russia and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Bharathi's poetry not only includes works on Hindu deities like Shakti, Kali, Vinayagar, Murugan, Sivan, Kannan(Krishna), but also on other religious gods like

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...

and Jesus. His insightful similes have been read by millions of

readers. He was well-versed in various languages and translated speeches of Indian National reform leaders like

Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined the ...

Bal Gangadhar Tilak Bal Gangadhar Tilak (; born Keshav Gangadhar Tilak (pronunciation: eʃəʋ ɡəŋɡaːd̪ʱəɾ ʈiɭək; 23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), endeared as Lokmanya (IAST: ''Lokmānya''), was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence a ...

and

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...

. Bharathi's works can be found at Tamil Wikisource Subramaniya Bharathi and also at the open access Tamil literature repository called

Project Madurai Project Madurai (மதுரை தமிழ் இலக்கிய மின்தொகுப்புத் திட்டம்) is an open and voluntary initiative to publish free versions of ancient Tamil literature on the Internet. Te ...

. Bharathi's works were nationalized meaning they were brought under public ownership of the government thus becoming public domain works in 1949 by the then Chief Minister of

, Omandur Ramasamy Reddy. Bharathi describes the dance of Shakthi (in Oozhi koothu, Dance of destiny) in the following lines: It is the opinion of some litterateurs that Bharathiar's ''Panchali Sapatham,'' based on the story of Panchali (

Draupadi Draupadi ( sa, द्रौपदी, draupadī, Daughter of Drupada), also referred to as Krishnaa, Panchali, and Yagyaseni, is the main female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata,'' and the common consort of the five Pandava brothers ...

), is also an ode to

Bharat Mata Bhārat Mātā ( Mother India in English) is a national personification of India ( Bharat ) as a mother goddess. In the visual arts she is commonly depicted dressed in a red or saffron-coloured sari and holding a national flag; she sometimes ...

. That the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...

ss are the Indians, the

Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wif ...

s the British and the

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra (, ) is a city and administrative headquarter of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty ") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Pura ...

war of

Mahabharat The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

that of the Indian freedom struggle. It certainly is ascribed to the rise of womanhood in society. He is known to have said, "Even if Indians are divided, they are children of one Mother, where is the need for foreigners to interfere?" In the period 1910–1920, he wrote about a new and free India where there are no castes. He talks of building up India's defense, her ships sailing the high seas, success in manufacturing and universal education. He calls for sharing amongst states with wonderful imagery like the diversion of excess water of the

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

delta to needy regions and a bridge to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Bharathi also wanted to abolish starvation. He sang, "''Thani oru manithanakku unavu illayenil intha jagaththinai azhithiduvom"'' translated as " If one single man suffers from starvation, we will destroy the entire world". Some of his poems are translated by

Jayanthasri Balakrishnan Dr. Jayanthasri Balakrishnan, is a public speaker and a retired Professor of English, from PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Education Dr. Jayanthasri Balakrishnan as an Educationalist strongly believes in bringing about a ...

in English in her blog, though not published. Even though he has strong opinions about Gods, he is also against false stories spread in epics and other part of social fabric in Tamil Nadu. In Kuyil paattu (Song of Nightingale
(குயில் பாட்டு)
he writes..

Bharathi on caste system

Bharathi also fought against the

in Hindu society. Bharathi was born in an orthodox

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

family, but he considered all living beings to be equal, and to illustrate this he performed the ''

upanayanam ''Upanayana'' ( sa, उपनयनम्, lit=initiation, translit=Upanāyanam) is a Hindu educational sacrament, one of the traditional saṃskāras or rites of passage that marked the acceptance of a student by a preceptor, such as a ''guru'' ...

'' for a young

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...

man and made him a

. He also scorned the divisive tendencies being imparted into the younger generations by their elderly tutors during his time. He openly criticised the preachers for mixing their individual thoughts while teaching the

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

, Upanishads and the

Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' ( ...

. He strongly advocated bringing the

to the Hindu mainstream. Here he expresses the love between human beings, where a man should not see their caste. They should see them as human beings. Not only human beings, they should see them as their brothers and sisters. This means that a well-educated person knows to treat them equally and not by their caste.

Legacy

The Government of India in 1987 instituted a highest National

Subramanyam Bharati Award Subramaniam, Subrahmanyam, Subramanyam or Subramanian ( ta, சுப்பிரமணியம்; te, సుబ్రహ్మణ్యం) is a South Indian male given name. Due to the South Indian tradition of using patronymic surnames it ...

conferred along with

Ministry of Human Resource Development The Ministry of Education ( MoE; formerly the Ministry of Human Resource Development from 1985 to 2020) is a ministry of the Government of India, responsible for the implementation of the National Policy on Education. The Ministry is further di ...

, annually confers on writers of outstanding works in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

literature.

Bharathiar University Bharathiar University is a Public university, public State university (India), state university in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Named after Tamil people, Tamil poet Subramania Bharati, the university was established in February 1982 under th ...

, a

state university A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, territory or federal district. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country. State univers ...

named after the poet, was established in 1982 at

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

. There is a

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

of Bharathiar at Marina Beach and also in the

Indian Parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

. A

Tamil Movie Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

titled Bharathi was made in the year 2000 on the life of the poet by Gnana Rajasekeran, which won

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil The Indian Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several aw ...

. The movie ''

Kappalottiya Thamizhan ''Kappalottiya Thamizhan'' () is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language historical drama film produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and Savitri. It is based on the 1944 book of the same name by M. P. Si ...

'' chronicles the important struggles of V.O.Chidambaranar along with

Subramanya Siva Subramaniya Siva (Tamil: சுப்பிரமணிய சிவா) (4 October 1884 – 23 July 1925) was an Indian freedom fighter, writer and pure Tamil movement activist during the Indian independence movement. Life Subramaniya Siva was ...

and Bharathiar with S.V. Subbaiah starring as Subramania Bharathi. On 14 August 2014 Professor Muhammadu Sathik raja Started an Educational trust at thiruppuvanam pudur, near Madurai named as Omar -Bharathi educational trust, the name is kept to praise the two legendary poets Umaru Pulavar and Subramania Bharathiyar from Ettaiyapuram. Though these two Poets are having three centuries time interval, the divine service and their contribution to the Tamil language are made them unparallel legends. Both two poets are offered their services at vaigai river bank of thiruppuvanam. the two poets were strongly suffered by their financial status, so both of them were unsuccessful to fulfil their family members need. Many roads are named after him, notable ones including Bharathiar road in

and Subramaniam Bharti Marg in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. The NGO

Sevalaya Sevalaya is a registered charitable organisation in India. Sevalaya means ''Temple of Service.'' It runs an orphanage in the village of Kasuva near Thiruninravur about 40 km west of Chennai, Tamil Nadu in southern India. It is also engaged ...

runs the Mahakavi Bharatiya Higher Secondary School.

In popular culture

Bharati had a critical reception from the

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

Adhithya Venkatapathy through the

musical duo A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

Hiphop Tamizha which features Bharati in its

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

. Many of the poems written by Bharati were used in various Tamil films in the form of songs. AVM productions was the first company to use his songs in films, "Aaduvome Palli" from ''Naam Iruvar'' (1947) was the first song inspired from Bharathi's poem. Many of the film titles were taken from his poems like ''Vallamai Tharayo'' (2008), ''Aanmai Thavarel'' (2011), ''Nayyapudai'' (2016), ''

Nerkonda Paarvai ''Nerkonda Paarvai'' () is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language legal drama film directed by H. Vinoth. Produced by Boney Kapoor, it is a remake of the Hindi film ''Pink'' (2016). The film stars Ajith Kumar, Shraddha Srinath, Abhirami Venkatachalam ...

'' (2019), ''

Soorarai Potru ''Soorarai Pottru'' () is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language drama film that was written and directed by Sudha Kongara, and produced by Suriya, Jyothika and Guneet Monga. Kongara and Shalini Usha Nair wrote the screenplay; Aalif Surti and Ganeshaa pr ...

'' (2020).

References

External links

Works by Bharathi at the open access repository: Project Madurai
* Long list o

on the left side menu, some songs have audio files
Songs by Mahakavi Bharathiyar
* http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/Bharathiar-museum-in-Cuddalore-prison-to-be-thrown-open-soon/article16630552.ece * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bharathy, Subramania Tamil poets Tamil activists Tamil-language writers Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu Hindu poets 1882 births 1921 deaths People from Thoothukudi district Indian reformers Indian autobiographers Indian male poets Animal attack victims Elephant attacks Indian social reformers 20th-century Indian poets Poets from Tamil Nadu Brahmins who fought against discrimination Tamil-language literature Anti-caste activists