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Poet Tamizh Oli remembered

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

Paying homage: S. Kumaraswamy, Secretary, Puducherry Department of Art and Culture (extreme left), pays homage to poet Tamizh Oli on Saturday.

PUDUCHERRY: This piece is a tribute to Vijayarangan, who was born on September 21, 1924, at Karuvadikuppam in Puducherry. A poet, who took up the cause of the working class and the downtrodden, the bearded ‘Tamizh Oli’, as he was known, spoke up for the eradication of casteism and poverty.

The poet, whose heart was with the working people, had, in a poem titled ‘Letter from Coimbatore Labourer to Pondicherry’s Worker’, written about the heroic struggle of a worker during an 8-hour working day. The poem runs as if a worker from Coimbatore lauds the struggle of his compatriot in Puducherry.

The depth of the visionary poet’s knowledge was visible in a poem on the power of the atom. He wishes in the poem for a society where the power is used for peaceful purposes. He wants to convert deserts into orchards using atomic power. His books include ‘People’s Poetry’.

The Government of Puducherry, represented by Education Minister M.O.H.F Shahjahan and Art and Culture Secretary S. Kumaraswamy, paid homage to the poet, who lived for just over four decades, on his birth anniversary on Friday. In his early years, Tamizh Oli was attracted to the Dravidian movement, but later he joined the Communist Movement, imbibing its vision for the toiling masses.

In his address, Mr. Kumaraswamy said that the poet, through his songs, had recorded the Long March of the Red Army led by Mao Tse Tung, delivered poetic messages to the erstwhile Soviet Union and China, and admonished Winston Churchill and asked him to quit office for peace to prevail. His epic ‘Madhavi Kavyam’ places him on a high pedestal among his contemporaries. It is rather unfortunate that he left an epic on Lord Buddha incomplete, he added. S. Banumathi, Director, Department of Art and Culture; and E. Thamizhselvi, Vice-Chairperson, Oulgaret Municipality; spoke on the occasion.

President of the Progressive Writers Association S. Ramachandran recalled how when the Communist movement was banned in the country, Tamizh Oli, wrote many pieces as editor of Munnani. “He studied in Calve College and as a poet he wrote many short stories, essays and poems. His Madhavi Kavyam was an epic equivalent to the Silapadhikaram,” Mr. Ramachandran added.

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