Bharathidasan
[ Birth name: K. Subburathinam, the person's given name: Subburathinam, father's given name: Kanagasabai. (K. Subburathinam by the prevalent patronymic initials as prefix naming system in Tamil Nadu and it is Subburathinam Kanagasabai by the patronymic suffix naming system.) He named himself "Bharathi dasan" meaning follower or adherent of Bharathi, and he is predominantly known as Bharathidasan.] (IPA: ; born K. Subburathinam
29 April 1891 – 21 April 1964) was a 20th-century
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
poet and
rationalist writer whose literary works handled mostly socio-political issues. He was deeply influenced by the Tamil poet
Subramania Bharathi and named himself "Bharathi dasan" meaning follower or adherent of Bharathi. His greatest influence was
Periyar
Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 187924 December 1973), commonly known as Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician. He was the organizer of the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam and is considered the architect o ...
and his
self-respect movement
The Self-Respect Movement is a popular human rights movement originating in South India aimed at achieving social equality for those oppressed by the Indian caste system, advocating for lower castes to develop self-respect. It was founded in ...
. Bharathidasan's writings
served as a catalyst for the growth of the
Self-Respect Movement
The Self-Respect Movement is a popular human rights movement originating in South India aimed at achieving social equality for those oppressed by the Indian caste system, advocating for lower castes to develop self-respect. It was founded in ...
in
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. 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 Indi ...
. In addition to poetry, his views found expression in other forms such as plays, film scripts, short stories and essays. The Government of
Puducherry union territory has adopted the song of Invocation to Mother Tamil, written by Bharathidasan as the state song of Puducherry (
Tamil Thai Valthu (Puducherry)).
Life
Kanaka Subburathinam was born
in
Puducherry (earlier called Pondicherry) on 29 April 1891 to Kanagasabai Mudaliar and Lakshmi Ammal. He was deeply influenced by the Tamil poet and freedom fighter,
Subramania Bharathi,
who mentored him and hence Subburathinam named himself "Bharathi dasan" meaning follower or adherent of Bharathi. He is popularly known as Bharathidasan
(
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
: ). A twentieth century Tamil poet, Bharathidasan was an active participant in the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed.
The first nationalistic ...
, he opposed both the
British Raj
The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent,
*
* lasting from 1858 to 1947.
*
* It is also called Crown rule ...
and the French colonial government.
He was imprisoned
for voicing his views against the French Government that was ruling Pondicherry at that time. Bharathidasan was a poet in his own right, writing mostly on socio-political issues like women’s liberation, rationalism, and against caste discrimination. He was greatly influenced by the great rationalist leader and social reformer,
Periyar E. V. Ramaswami.
Bharathidasan became one of the key figures in the
Dravidian rationalist movement. He was bestowed the titles ‘puratchi kavinjar’ (revolutionary poet) and 'paa vendhar' (king of poetry) to honor his excellence in Tamil poetry and he was widely known by his titles. Bharathidasan works were nationalized meaning brought into public domain
in 1991 by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
M. Karunanidhi. Bharathidasan's works can be found at the open access Tamil literature repository
Project Madurai.
He remained a prolific
writer and poet till he died on 21 April 1964,
a week before his 73rd birthday. He was awarded the
Sahitya Academy Award
The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...
posthumously for his Tamil play
''Pisiraandhaiyaar''.
One among his famous lines is ‘அறிவை விரிவு செய், அகண்டமாக்கு’, ‘Arivai virivu sei, agandamakku’ meaning “Expand knowledge – make it universal”. Named after this great poet, it has been
Bharathidasan institute of management's endeavour to expand and universalize knowledge.
Named after the revolutionary poet Bharathidasan, the
Bharathidasan University
Bharathidasan University (BDU) is a university in the city of Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India ...
was set up in 1982 as an offshoot of the
University of Madras
The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...
. The motto of the University “We will create a brave new world” has been framed from Bharathidasan’s poetic words “புதியதோர் உலகம் செய்வோம்”. The University endeavours to be true to such a vision by creating in the region a brave new world of academic innovation for social change.
List of poems made into film lyrics
*Thamizhukum Amudenru per
*Sanke Muzhangu
*"Thunbam Nergayil" (set in
Desh by Carnatic musician
Dandapani Desikar and used by film composer
R. Sudarsanam in ''
Or Iravu'' in 1951)
*Thesa gnanam
*Neelavana aadaikul
*Valiyor silar
*Muzhumai Nila
*Chithirai
*Pallikudam
*Kalyanam aagatha penae
*Kaatrilellam
*Kandavudal kadal
*Vaanukku nilavu
*Paazhai pona manam
Complete List Of Bharathidasan Songs , Lyricist Bharathidasan Song Database
spicyonion.com (19 June 2015). Retrieved on 2018-11-20.
*Vaana mazhai neeye
*Avalum Naanum Amudhum Thamizhum
Awards and recognitions
*Bharathidasan won the Golden Parrot Prize in 1946 for his play Amaithi-Oomai (Peace and Dumbness).
*He was given the Sahitya Academy Award
The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...
, posthumously in 1970 for his play Pisiranthaiyar.
*On 9 October 2001, a commemorative stamp of Bharathidasan was released by the Postal Department in Chennai.
*He was conferred with the title of "Puratchi Kavingyar" (meaning the "Revolutionary Poet") by Periyar.
Legacy
* Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. 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 Indi ...
's state government gives the Bharathidasan Award annually to a Tamil poet.
* The Government of Puducherry union territory has adopted Bharathidasan's song of Invocation to Mother Tamil as the state song of Puducherry.
* A state university named Bharathidasan University
Bharathidasan University (BDU) is a university in the city of Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India ...
was established in Tiruchirappalli
Tiruchirappalli (), also known as Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of T ...
.
* Bharathidasan institute of management, one of India's top B-schools, was established in Tiruchirappalli
Tiruchirappalli (), also known as Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of T ...
.
References
External links
* Tamil Wikisource- works by Bharathidasan பாரதிதாசன்
* Works by Bharathidasan ( Tamil: பாரதிதாசன்) at the open access Tamil Literature repository
Project Madurai
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bharathidasan
1891 births
1964 deaths
Anti-Brahminism
Dravidian movement
People from Pondicherry
Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Tamil
Tamil activists
Tamil poets
Children's writers in Tamil
20th-century Indian poets
Tirukkural commentators
Poets from Puducherry
Indian Tamil people