Musings on the Life & Times of Chinnaswamy Subramania Bharathi Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan 30

Musings on the Life & Times of Chinnaswamy Subramania Bharathi
Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan
30

(Adhishree Manokaran is possibly cornering all the attention. Deservedly so . Readers may wonder why interfere with words, the beauty of her sketches, now in colour.)

Repeatedly we had noted that Bharathi was stricken by poverty and his works did not fetch him the dividends he anticipated or deserved. And in Pondicherry, where Bharathi rolled out his master class pieces as Kuyil Pattu, Kannan Pattu and piece de resistance in Panchali Sabatham , as if in an assembly line, it was noted that Chellamma was compelled to borrow rice,cereals, coffee powder, milk and just about any other household daily provisions and needs. Yet, Chellamma notes that “ there were 35 of Bharathi’s shishyas or students living in the house”. It was as if a community was living with Bharathi and ‘cooking too’ as Chellamma noted.

Bharati had a number of friends in Pondicherry. They admired him and helped him. There were some whose company simply delighted the poet. A few helped him at difficult times, providing support, and a few others made important contributions to the growth of his personality. There can be no doubt that the realisation of the self came to Bharati through his many relationships with friends, disciples, and relatives. At the same time, Bharati’s influence on those around him was profound, and the force of his writing and personality helped to unleash a Renaissance in Tamil literature. Bharati belongs to the category of Renaissance thinkers and poets, a special group of great individuals who are products of unique historical forces that appear rarely in civilizations. In Bharati’s case, the tremendous call of the National Movement and the fight for Indian independence catalyzed his growth, and transformed him into one of these leaders of human thought.
Some of his friends became characters in Bharati’s writings. He gave them nick-names, which were partly truthful and partly humorous.

Vilakkennai Chettiar (Sabapati Chettiar), the owner of the house where Bharati lived was a loving, compassionate man; smooth as castor oil (“vilakkennai”), he would never ask Bharati for payment of the rent. He would drop by with the intention of collecting it, but he was satisfied to listen to Bharati singing a song and invariably left without asking for money. There were “Vellachu” (jaggery piece) Krishnasamy Chettiar, “Elikkunju” (mouse) Arumugam Chettiar, “Valluru” (kite) Naicker, “Brahmaraya Iyer (Professor Subramania Iyer) to mention a few.

Among his close friends, Bharati was fortunate to count Sri Aurobindo, with whom he conducted research on the Vedas. Bharati enjoyed the company of V.V.S. Iyer, a great critic and writer; of the siddhas who lived in Pondicherry, such as Kullachami and Govindasamy, the Swamy from Jaffna; of his own disciples, such as Kanaga Subburathinam (Bharati dasan), Va. Ra. (Va. Ramasamy Iyengar,) Kuvalai Kannan; and a great many other, loyal friends.In her book Bharatiyar Charithiram, Chellamma writes, “There were about 35 disciples (sishya kodikal) in the house. . . . Each one was different in his own particular way.”

Among these remarkable friends, a special place was held by the fellow-poet whose love for Bharati and devotion to him were so immense that he adopted “Bharati dasan” as his own pen name. This follows the poetic tradition of Kalidasa, and of Bharati himself, who once assumed the pen name “Shelley dasan.”

Chellamma made specific reference to Sankarakrishnan who stayed with them . He hailed from a village Krishnapuram next to Kadayamallur. He came from an orthodox family and was healthy with a strong physique. He continuously exercised and ate big. Like one kilo or more of boiled ground nuts daily. Sankarakrishnan always feared an arrest, as he was engaged in anti British activities. He said, “ I need to be ready and prepared to go to jail. I may have to endure hard labour for which I need strength and energy. I may need to eat inedible food.He consistently practised eating ‘Ragi Kali’. As he apprehended, Sankarakrishnan was picked up by police in the wake of Ashe killing as a suspect in the conspiracy. ‘So, his practice did not go in vain’ suggested Chellamma tongue in cheek.

Sankarakrishnan was incarcerated for over 6 years. For Bharathi, it was a huge loss as he always attended Bharathi’s calls ‘to do social work such as visiting remote villages to teach Dalit children who lacked the benefit of schools in their vicinity’. And Sankarakrishnan left behind his young widow,aged parents, as he died soon after his release from the prison as a physically and mentally broken man. Chellamma identified him as an unknown and unassuming sacrificing soul. There were so many ‘unsung soldiers who quietly made their contributions to India’s march to freedom’.

Chellamma made a humorous reference to a couple of characters who provided ‘ marvellous entertainment to those in the house by their constant and consistent exchanges over Cauvery v. Tambraparani debate’ . Sri Balu was a Cauvery man and always spoke of Tambraoarani in disparaging terms . Tiruchy v. Tirunelveli was another hot topic which broke out on a daily basis. One day, Sri Balu the well built man, went physical. A provoked Appadurai, elder brother of Chellamma, angrily picked up the feet of Balu and literally heaved him over and under. Bharathi was amused to quote, “ Bale,Tambraparaniyaan has beaten up the Cauveryman. The result may be that the head of the Cauveryman may have broken like a ‘Vengalapanai’. “(A bronze pot).

Chellamma has a funny take on Kuvalai Kannan and Sri Thottadhri too, who were with them. According to her, Thottadhri always picked up arguments with Bharathi and yielded only after being slandered. Even over piffles as fetching betel leaves,?after a good hot meal. But Kuvalai Kannan was a class by himself. Chellamma feels that whatever traces or elements of the faculty of patience Bharathi picked up, was thanks to the irritable ways of Kuvalaii. Kuvalai had the innate knack of posing odd and/or idiotic questions and Bharathi started to practice silence to retain his sanity, she said. Kuvalai thought he pleased Bharathi by singing his songs- Panchali Sabatham particularly- from the wee hours of morning through the day- in utterly unsynchronised tune (no Sruti at all) and in a loud voice which was least suited to break into singing. But his presence provided continuous feast to everyone around, amidst the difficult times.

Kuvalai Kridhnamachariar, Thirumalachariar and Bharathi hit upon an idea to travel to Europe for a first hand account of the happenings and spread the message on India’s freedom movement. It was only during this period that ‘ India’ was shifted to Pondicherry and started to poke at the Britishers. It was not easy setting up ‘India’ as local authorisation was a must. While they were discussing and debating on a visit to Europe, for a hands on study, Thirunalachariar actually left for Europe on his own, leaving the other two behind.

Chellamma however felt that it was her being pregnant with their second child that prompted Bharathi not to be too keen to go abroad. He continuously wrote to Chellamma, then in her father’s house, awaiting the birth of their second child. Chellamma suggests that it was during this time that Bharathi had deep dived into Kalidasa’s Sakuntalam and instinctively requested that the new born girl may be christened as Sakuntala.

Even as ‘India’ started taking roots in Pondy with over 4000 copies in circulation, the British police moved in to cause disruption. Finances dwindled and publishers saw it better to cease publication altogether. Death of ‘ India’ saw the birth of ‘ Karmayogi’ journal which ran for two years, before it too folded up. Just then Sri Nagaswamy and Va.Ra. joined Bharathi and thus was started another journal ‘Dharmam’.

Chellammal noted that relatives and friends thronged Pondicherry to entice their young ones in their house, to return home . The families were scared that under the influence of Bharathi, the youth may be ‘misled’ and get on the ‘wrong side of law’. But Bharathi counselled that they were ‘on the right path and on the path of Dharma’. The younger lot believed Bharathi and trusted him to stay put in Pondicherry, to the dismay of their elders.

Presence of Bharathi in Pondicherry caught the eyes of those others, who wanted to ‘settle down’ to go do their ‘own thing’. It was felt that escaping the ‘clutches of the Britishers’ better served the cause of the patriots and their pursuit of India’s freedom. News travelled fast. That Pondicherry under the French was a safe haven in exile.

In came Va.Ve. Su Iyer and Aurobindo Ghosh to Pondicherry. And Aurobindo had a lasting presence and influence. Va. Ra. was to witness multiple conversations between Bharathi. Aurobindo and even Va.Ve.Su and rued that he did not have the skill to reduce their illuminating discussions into shorthand. Perfect opening into the world of Aurobindo Ghosh, before and after seeking exile.

(Author is practising advocate in the Madras High Court)